Fruit Tree Blooming Notes. 4.4.17

Methley Plum.  4.4.17

Hollywood Plum.  4.4.17

 I'm recording the bloom dates for my fruit trees.  For future decisions, I want to know if some bloom too early, and are exposed to frost.  For pollination and multigrafts, it doesn't help if one is finished before the polleniing variety starts.

Here's where they are now.  At my place in Battleground, only the Asian plums and peaches are blooming.

Peak or past peak blooming:
Crimson Pointe ornamental plum.

Peak Blooming:
Hollywood Plum.
Methley Plum.
Sweet Treat Pluerry.
Nadia Plum Cherry Hybrid.

Early Open with a few flowers Blooming:
Shiro Plum - barely started.
LaCrescent hybrid Plum.
Charlotte Peach.  Almost peak blooming.
Mary Jane Peach.

Buds present and swelling but not open:
Hanska hybrid plum.
Ember hybrid plum.
Toka hybrid plum.

I have Hollywood on Toka.  I think I'll remove it.  Hollywood is way ahead of Toka, and is much more vigorous.  I have several other starts or grafts of Hollywood, so removing it is no loss.  Except I hate to remove a successful graft of my own doing.

Most of the cherries have swelling flower buds, as do most of the the pawpaws, Asian pears, and some apples. 

There are tiny insects moving from flower to flower in the plum and peach trees.  I imagine those are pollinating insects.  I cut sections from the unknown plum tree, and Crimson Pointe, and attached them to the other trees, as pollen sources.  I also hand pollinated a little, for Nadia and Sweet Treat.  I doubt that will have much impact, but it's not difficult to do.

Sweet Treat Pluerry.  4.4.17

Nadia Plum Cherry Hybrid.  4.4.17

Mostly, Unknown Asian Plum with multigrafts.   4.4.17

Charlotte Peach.  4.4.17

Maryanne Peach.  4.4.17

Q-1-8 Peach  4.4.17

Crimson Pointe Plum.  4.4.17

Fruit Tree Buds. 2.21.16

Flower Buds.  NOID Asian Plum.  2.21.16

Flower Buds.  Methley Plum.  2.21.16

 Many of the fruit trees have enlarging buds, but many are still looking closed tight.  I was anxious about how early they are developing - concern for frost kill on delicate new flowers and growth, but that is becoming less of a concern as Spring approaches and the flowers are not yet open.  We have low into high 30s tonight, not worrisome for fruit tree flower buds.

The furthest ahead so far -
 Charlotte Peach - pink is showing.
Sweet Treat Pluerry
NOID Asian Plum - might be pluot.
Toka Hybrid Plum.
Methley Asian Plum
Maxie Pear - not a fair comparison, because this was a container tree planted in December, which might have influenced this year's  bud development.

Next in line -
Hollywood Plum - almost as far along, can see some pink coloration, this tree has burgundy leaves which influences the color of the buds.
Nadia Cherry - Plum Hybrid - not a fair comparison, I planted this as a bare root tree last month. If the blooms taste, it would be interesting to get a fruit or two to taste on this first-year tree.
Prunus americana seed grown plum - flower color is starting to show.  This tree is 4 years from seeds.
Unnamed Asian Pear
Hosoi Asian Pear

Buds showing signs of life -
Illinois Everbearing Mulberry - leaf buds - flowers form from growing shoots.
Saijo Persimmon - barely.  This is leaf bud, flowers form on shoots that grow from buds, not the dormant buds themselves.
Nikita's Gift Persimmon - barely and as for Saigo
Unnamed Korean or Japanese Cherry, planted this winter.
Juliet hybrid bush cherry - planted from container this winter.

Most of the European cherries bad barely visible swelling on some buds, both sweet and sour cherries.  Most of the European pears and apples have no discernible bud swelling.

Flower Buds.  Toka Plum.  2.21.16

Flower Buds.  Charlotte Peach.   2.21.16

Flower Buds.  Maxie Hybrid Pear.   2.21.16

Bloom Time. Oregon Curl Free Peach. 3.10.15

Bloom Time for Oregon Curl Free Peach.  3.10.15

Last night aspirated the oral chemo.  Rough.  One day at a time.  This is Oregon Curl Free peach in bloom.  It's interesting to compare to the genetic dwarf peaches, which have larger, more vivid pink flowers, packed close together.  I don't know if these will bear this year.  They are reported not to need a pollinizer, but I did use the paintbrush yesterday to transfer pollen from genetic dwarf varieties to these flowers.

Can't go to Battleground today, but the photos are good for me to muse over. 

Home Orchard. Bloom report. 4.6.14

Home Orchard

Bloom report.

Plums.

Methley = done.
Satsuma = petals almost all dropped.
Toka = all open , 1st petals dropping.
Unknown = about 3/4 done

Stanley = doesn't look like it will bloom.

Gage = almost fully open.
 

Peaches = all varieties are done.

Cherries.

I may have Vandalay and Sweetheart mixed in this photo.   Both are about 1/4 open.
Almaden Duke = fully open.  Really beautiful tree.
Tart Cherries = neither has started.  This is good.  I wanted them to be late in case of late frost.

None of the apples are blooming.

Dwarf apple 3-way I planted bare root this winter,  Pristine, Queen Cox, Rubinette is leafing out.
Minidwarf Karmijn de Sonneville is almost blooming.
Minidwarf Honeycrisp is almost blooming.  This is new growth last year after broke off completely 2012.  I kept this with branching very low, 2 branches.  I grafted a pollinating branch of Liberty onto the smaller branch.  The Liberty branch looks like it might bloom.
William's Pride 1-year old looks like it might bloom.  One year from grafting.
Esopus Spitzenberg 1 year old is growing, I don't expect bloom.
Golden Sentinel has some unopened flowers.
Red Sentinel has some unopened flowers.
Prairie Fire has nice burgundy leaves, and clusters of flower buds. 

The unknown, original Asian pear is in full bloom.  The others have buds, starting to open.

Fruit Tree Blossom Times. 3.30.14

Asian Plums 3.30.14

Apricot  Blossom 3.30.14

Log for plum blooming times.

Unknown plum, not quite full bloom.
Toka, full bloom.
Satsuma, just past full bloom.
Methley finished blooming.

Among others,
Greengage just beginning to bloom
Stanley, doesn't look like it will bloom.

I pollinated several times using paintbrush.  Today it did not rain.  There were many pollinating insects, especially on the unknown variety of plum.  I didn't see much traffic to Toka or Satsuma.

Among other stone fruits,
The apricot seedlings have just a few blossoms.  I have been trying to pollinate them.  Looking,on a few the base of the pistol has minimal swelling.  That is  also the case with Methley.

Among the cherries, the first flower opened today on Vandalay.  Sweetheart has not started to open.  Those are only one year old.  Almaden Duke is covered with buds, none open yet.  The tart cherries, not near opening yet.  Montmorency and Northstar.

Peaches are done blooming.  Except the one and only blossom on Indian Free.

Toka Plum Full Bloom.  3.30.14

Almaden Duke Cherry 3.30.14

Sweetheart Cherry 3.30.14

Vandalay Cherry 3.30.14