Asian and European Pears in Full Bloom. 4.17.19

Original, NOID Asian Pear in Bloom.  4.17.19

Orcas Pear in Full Bloom.  4.17.19

 Most of the Asian and European pear cultivars in my orchard are in full bloom.   In some cases, I don't know what they are.  The Asian Pear that came with the place is full of flowers.  So is Hamese, Mishirasu, Maxie, Orcas, Rescue.  I think Nijiseiki and Shinseiki are just beginning to bloom.  I also have some grafts of European pear, I think Bartlett and Anjou, that are not open yet.

Rescue Pear in Full Bloom. 4.17.19

Apple Bloom Time, Beginning. 4.17.19

Dolgo Crabapple Blossoms.  4.17.19

Gravenstein Apple Blossoms.  4.17.19

This year I am more carefully watching fruit tree blossom times.

Many of the apples have buds showing the first signs of petals.  The only apple cultivars that have a significant number of fully open flowers, now, are Gravenstein and Dolgo Crabapple.

The Dolgo branch is small, and with so much rain, I don't know if bees are pollinating yet.  So we will see if that is enough to give us some Gravenstein apples this year.

As for Dolgo, I don't know if it is self pollinating.  Gravenstein is triploid so unable to pollinate other cutivars.

Nepenthes. 4.17.19

Nepenthes sanguinea pitcher, not quite open.  4.17.19

 The Nepenthes carnivorous plants in the sunroom are beginning to mature their pitchers.  Fun to watch.  I bought these earler this year - late winter - from growcarnivorousplants.com in Oregon.

Nepenthes x St Mercury.  Pitcher beginning to open.  4.17.19

Nepenthes thorellii x aristolochoides pitcher not quite open.  4.17.19

Pawpaw Buds. 4.17.19

Pawpaw NC1 Flower Bud.  4.17.19

 Gotta watch the pawpaw trees so I can pollinate them when the flowers are ready.  Not there yet but some flowers are beginning to open. 

Pawpaw Sunflower Flower Bud.  4/17/19

Cherry Trees Blooming. 4.17.19

Sweet Cherries Vandalay and Sweetheart.  4.17.19

Pie Cherry Montmorency.  4.17.19

This is peak bloom time for sweet cherry varieties Vandalay, Sweetheart, and Ranier, as well as for Montmorency.  I don't think Montmorency pollinates the sweet cherries, and is self pollinating.  The sweet cherries look like they will have a good crop this year.

I planted Vandalay and Sweetheart from shipped bare root trees from Raintree in 2012.  Ranier was a bare root tree from BiMart in about 2014.   Montmorency was from Home Depot, I think in 2010, and I replanted it to the Battleground orchard in 2012.  It was a ball and burlap tree.

Sweet Cherry Ranier.  First Bloom.  4.1719