Planting Two Grafted Chestnut Saplings. 4.4.17

Grafted Chestnut Saplings.  4.4.17

The two grafted chestnut trees from Raintree arrived yesterday, so I planted them.  The smaller one doesn't look like much.  The larger one is OK although the pruning was kind of harsh.  I guess that is needed for shipping.  The varieties are Maraval and Marigoule, Euro/Japanese hybrids.  They have deer fencing, and I will add the vole barrier tomorrow.

It's always amazing to me that bare root trees can survive, take off and grow.  I hope these do the same.

This completes the various things I wanted to do with the huge area of blackberries that I spent a year clearing.  Now there are 3 chestnut trees planted, and a dawn redwood.  The forest edge has perennials that I salvaged / rescued from the old yard, and the Hawthorn trees have grafts of Chinese Haw, Quince, and Asian pears, for fun/.  The back is planted with a row of Cypress, for privacy, reduce invasion from wild blackberries, and to prevent erosion.

Flowers. 4.4.17

Charlotte Peach.  4.4.17

Daffodils in flower border.  4.4.17

 Lots of flowers blooming.  If the peaches and plums didn't bear fruit, they would still be worth growing for their flowers.  Most of the daffodils were ones that I recovered from the old yard.  They established and are flourishing.  Some are from random acts of daffodil bulb planting that I do each fall.

Daffodils in tree area.  4.4.17

More daffodils in flower border.  4.4.17

Hollywood plum grafted onto Toka.  4.4.17

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 Blooming Notes. 3.31.17

Methley Plum.  About 25% in bloom.  3.31.17

Nadia Plum Cherry Hybrid.  About 1/3 in bloom.  3.31.17

As of today, the Asian plums are the main fruit trees with blossom.  Hollywood and Crimson Pointe, both with myrobalan heritage, are in full, amazing bloom.  I cut a few sprigs from Crimson Pointe and placed near other blooming plums to assist pollenizing insects.  Crimson Pointe is sold as an ornamental, but I like the plums.  They are small, larger than sweet cherries, very juicy and richly flavored.  The seeds are a bit large for a small plum, so they would never sell as a fruit tree.  I'm not sure if it is self pollinated, I think so.  I think Methley also has some myrobalan DNA, and is also starting to bloom with about 25% of its flowers open now.  Nadia Plum Cherry hybrid has about 30% of its flowers open, but I'm not sure that such a young tree will behave the same way as a mature specimen.

Peaches and other plums will probably  start to open soon.  I'm seeing significant pink in the swelling buds.  Most of the Asian pears have tufts of flower buds emerging from each bud, so won't be far behind.

I don't know how well the pollinating insects will do with the rain and chilly weather.  I saw a lot of tiny bees on the Crimson Pointe tree and a few on other trees, today.

Unknown Asian Plum, possibly seed grown.  About 50% in bloom.  3.31.17

Hollywood Plum in full bloom.  3.31.17

Crimson Pointe Plum in full bloom.  3.31.17

Spring Flowers. 3.30.17

Each Fall, I buy some bags of daffodil bulbs and plant them.  Over the years, some persist and multiple, while others fizzle out.  In the long run, that means each year there are more and more blooming in the Spring.  I forget where I plant them, so it's a nice surprise.