Thinned "Jonared" apples.  5.30.17

This year looks like a good year for the young apple trees.  This Jonared Apple is 3 years old, and had good bloom and fruit set for the first time this Spring.  I thinned the developing apples to at least 6 inches apart, for better fruit development and to avoid alternate year bearing.  Jonathan is a nostalgia variety for me, but the red Jonared sport was as close as I could come when ordering on line.  I have since found some true Jonathan scion, and grafted them to this tree, this year, to see if I can see any difference.

This is the time to thin fruits, if it's not already done.  The developed the most cells per fruit at the early stage, so thinning them results in better development.  Many of my grafts from the past 3 years will have their first taste this year, including Porter (one), Newtown Pippin (one), Baldwin (5), Arlie Red Flesh (6), Goldrush (6), Priscilla (4).  For best graft development, better to remove the first fruits, but I'm not getting younger so I am leaving them as if they are understock branches, so I get to taste them.  Since I thinned aggressively, they still have a chance for more fruit next year.

Flowers in Bloom. 5.30.17

Purple Globe Allium.  5.30.17

Tamara Rose.  5.30.17

Unknown Hybrid Tea Rose, cutting grown.  5.30.17

Unknown White English Rose.  5.30.17  I believe this is "Fair Bianca™"

Flavescens Iris.  5.30.17

First Flower on Daylily Seedling. 5.30.17

First Flower on Daylily Seedling.  5.30.17

For the past 2 years,  I play mad scientist and transfer pollen from stamens of daylily flowers of one color, to pistols of daylily flowers of another color.  I try to stick to diploid with diploid, and tetraploid with tetraploid, which is basically the stouter more hefty looking daylilies tend to be tetraploid, and the more delicate ones tend to be diploid, although that is not a hard and fast rule.  Regardless, if seeds develop, and they usually do, I save them, stratify them using the damp paper towel in ziplock in refrigerator method, then germinate them using the damp paper towel in ziplock on windowsill method, then grow them as seedlings.  Usually, slugs, rabbits, and deer eat most of the plants, which I don't like.

This one was protected by growing with other daylilies in a barrel planter, and today it was the first of all of my daylilies to bloom.  It's not an idea spot - shady - but there it is.  Nice pinkish color.  The tepals are pointed.  That might change in future flowers, or not.  I didn't bother to label, but I think this is an offspring of a yellow that was incorrectly labeled, or more likely a correctly labeled tetraploid that reverted to diploid.  I actually like the unusual appearance and the subtle pink color, with green throat, and shape that makes me think of trilliums.   Another is making buds, so this is my year to see some results from daylily hybridizing.

Meanwhile, the first batch of daylily seedlings that I planted out from last year's hybridizing, were all eaten by slugs, except for one that somehow survived.  I left the second batch in containers that dried out, noticed this week that they started to re-grow, and planted among peppers and tomatoes in the vegetable garden.  If they grow, we'll see what happens.

Bearded Irises. 5.24.17

Sans Souci in front of Indian Chief.  5.23.17

Seedling, Immortality X Sunny Disposition.  5.23.17

 Since the bearded irises are not doing well in their raised beds, I'm going to move them to the edge of the woods and let them live or die as they see fit.  In my neighborhood, there are lots of big clumps of bearded iris, doing very well.  I've stuck some rhizomes in our fence row, and they grow, spread, and bloom in the grass.  I don't know why they don't flourish in the raised beds. 

Interestingly, one of the better bloomers this year is a hybrid I made several years ago from white "Immortality" crossed with yellow "Sunny Disposition".  This came out white with yellow beard, and the petals are more substantial than either parent.  It's fragrant, too.  But the leaves are ugly.

Maybe as long as they have full sun, they can be in the most neglected part of the yard.  We'll see.

Indian Chief.  5.23.17

Milkweed Plants, year #3. 5.24.17

Milkweed Asclepias syriaca.  Year#3.  5.24.17

These are common milkweed, Asclepius syriaca, that I grew from seeds in 2015.  They have a beautiful, unique, fragrant, pink flower.  During their first year, the plants were delicate-looking, very thin fragile stems and small plants.  During their second year, they grew much sturdier stems, and bloomed during the summer.    Flower photo is same plant, July 2016.

Last fall, I dug up two of the milkweed plants, and transplanted them to a front yard flower bed.  They do not appear to have survived.  I read they are difficult to transplant, interesting for such a sturdy-looking plant.

These plants seem to be the last to start growing.  They must need a lot of warmth to break dormancy.  Almost everything else has leafed out, before the milkweeds showed any sign of life.  I thought they were dead.  The same thing happened last year.  Then I was walking around, and saw they fooled me once again. 

Asclepias syriaca.  Jul 2016.

Late blooming fruits, and developing fruits. 5.22.17

Persimmon Nikita's Gift, flower buds.  5.21.17

 The late blooming fruits are not affected by early spring rains, which gives them a better chance compared to Asian pears, plums, peaches, and cherries.  The persimmons have lots of nice flower buds.  Some of those, and some leaves, have hail damage, but I think most should pull through.  Some fruit trees, maybe most, don't bear the first year they bloom.  Yates American Persimmon has lots of little flower buds, for the first time.  So we'll see about that one. 

Grapes are an exception, usually bear grapes if they bloom, even the first year.  This is the first year they have a lot of flowers at the Battleground place.   Some are 2, 3, or 4 years from planting or cuttings.

Persimmon flower buds, Saijo.  5.22.17

Persimmon flower buds, Coffee Cake.  5.22.17

"Illinois Everbearing" Mulberry flowers.  5.22.17

 Mulberry tree is covered with flowers.  Looks very promising.

Early figs forming on "Lattarula".  5.22.17

Grape "Buffalo" flower buds.  5.22.17

Tree Update. 5.12.17

Greenspire Linden, 5 years.  5.21.17

Above Greenspire Linden when planted on 9.8.2012

Redmond American Linden.  Planted Feb 23, 2013.  Now 5.21.17 

These are trees that I planted a few years ago.  I always wonder if I will live long enough to see nice trees, from the trees that I plant.  However, with some good fortune, and care, and careful choosing of the specimen and variety, a few years can make a dramatic difference.  I found photos from when I planted these trees, and linked to them.  They are becoming nice specimens now.

It's interesting that the tiny maple seedling has outpaced a 12 foot tall maple that we planted at about the same time.  Moving large trees, they are really set back for a few years.

Unidentified Seedling Maple.  5 years.  5.21.17

The dawn redwood is from last October.  It doesn't show up well in photos yet, so I took a photo of the foliage.

Dawn Redwood Foliage.  Planted Oct 2017, bare root.  5.21.17

Above Redmond Linden, the spring after planted, as of May 7, 2013

Above maple when transplanted, 10.7.2012, a volunteer seedling. 

Kitchen Garden. 5.21.17

Tomatoes.  5.21.17

Potatoes and Garlic.  5.21.17

Some life got in the way and I was delayed getting some of the gardening done.  Now, tomatoes are in their beds.  These are the plants I started about one month ago.  They made nice plants.  Also tomatillos and peppers.

The potatoes, onions, and garlic are doing nicely.

I gave up on potato onions, turned the soil over, and planted tomatoes in that bed.  Potato onions do not do well for me, even though I like the idea.

The first batch of sweet corn did not germinate well.  One row sort of germinated, and a couple of plants in a second row.  Might be old seeds or soil not warm enough, or birds ate them.  I planted more today, covered, and if they don't grow, I'll get new seeds.

The first batch of onions that I planted when I thought it was too early and chilly and wet, are way ahead of the later ones.

The peppers are in very-raised raised beds, 4 x 4 feet, made from used cement blocks.  These also have deer fencing.  The tomatoes are in raised beds that are protected from deer.  Animals don't seem to bother the potatoes and garlic, other than a little rabbit munching last fall.  Rabbits munched some of the onions at first, but now are leaving them alone.

Flowers blooming. 5.21.17

Iris but I forgot the name.

Red Peony

Snowball bush.  Gorgeous.  Viburnum "sterile".

One of the irises that survived in my iris bed.  "Gay Parasol".

Weigela.  I think it's "Wine and Roses" but I'm not sure.

Indian Runner Ducklings. 5.21.17

 I think they are about 3 weeks old now.  They grow very quickly.  They have lost their yellow color, and starting to fill in white and fawn color.  The hens ignore them, and vice versa.  One of the roosters asserted himself, but did not attack so I think they are OK.  First time floating, they do like the water.