So, this morning I came out to check on my blossoms - baby crawford peach and babcock peach are just starting to reach full blossom here in zone 10a bay area california. I was dismayed (and utilized a few profanities) when I saw several sparrows sitting in the branches pulling the blossoms off! I knew I might have to protect the fruit from the birds, but I never thought they’d go as far as to nibble and pull off the blossoms! UGH.
Upon closer inspection, I see the birds were eating the petals off, but the base of the buds and the stamens are still there. They basically look like sadly shredded or shriveled up flowers since they dont have any petals, but the base/swollen bud is still there. I can try to take a pic later today…
Any chance these will still turn into fruit?! I am hoping that since the stamens are still there the blossom isn’t totally dead and might still turn into fruit…
They were doing that to mine,the last couple years,probably taking the whole bud sometimes,but there was still a lot of fruit.
Aren’t the petals there to attract insect pollinators,even though most Peaches don’t need them.Yours will probably be okay.
A thing to try,is pull a flower bud off and dissect it to see if all the inner parts are there and green.bb
