It stinks because I had frost protection ready to go, but didnt put it in place because of the forecast. I think I will still have plenty of fruit to keep me busy if we don’t see another freeze. Chickasaw and American plums didnt suffer much damage and most of the peaches and nectarines were ok. I am on a south facing slope on a long low ridge at the feet of the south mountains and the blue ridge mountains, so stuff wakes up early and then gets some cold pooling. It sounds like you might have a good year with your plums, i’ll be following their progress with much interest. Do you have a plan to fight plum curculio?
-Robert
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@SoMtHomestead … i am normally a no sprayer.
Last year on many of my new persimmon grafts… when they were pushing all that new tender growth… psyllids attacked… some of my grafts failed because of those critters.
I bought some capt jack deadbug brew (includes spinosad A & D) per the label and it did help with those psylliad attacks.
I have never used surround… but it is a organic option I would consider … as well as spinosad if needed.
I will not spray any type of (not organic) stuff on my fruit… but if I had too… might consider spraying spinosad… and if that does not do it… might try surround and spinosad.
Any chance of that working ?
Ps… when I had jplums before many years ago… i never sprayed anything on them… we got 1 good crop in 14 years… and 2 or 3 small crops in other years. The fruit we got were perfect… no insect damage at all.
Was that the result of fruiting so infrequently ?
No fruit most of the time… to support pest ?
IDK. But I think this year I might just let them go un sprayed and see what happens.
I would be interested in hearing how you spray to protect your plums… more about the timing of sprays.
Sounds like as soon as petals fall… that is when most start a spray program.
I am about at that point now.
Thanks
This O’Henry peach was not bothered by the cold weather
The neighbor’s pear tree is decked out. Believe this is Kieffer or something similar. The tree looks like it’s been there forever.
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Ah got it. Yes that most likely won’t work for me, but I’d love to give it a try anyway. Will try to remember to ping you this winter. Seems like a good test. We rarely get even 300hrs here. But you never know.
I have heard surround works pretty good if you can keep it on the fruit when curculio attacks which is the first warm humid night after shuck split. I use Sevin spray with zeta cypermethrin because it resists getting washed off by rain, i think it is absorbed into the surface of plant tissues. I have also noticed free ranging chickens under the trees helps, they love to dig in the mulch where the curculio hides during the day.
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Mt Royal EU Plum, Early Mc apple, Rabbiteye blueberries blooming.
My Novamac espellar… stacked up with fruit buds.
One 3 ft long limb has 26 fruit buds.
Should I reduce those ? Remove the ones pointing down ?
Is there a max # of fruit buds per ft recommendation ?
Thanks
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The blackberries are comming… Obsidian.
The raspberries are comming… Heritage.
Red gem goumi at peak blossom now.
This is one branch of a Carmine goumi graft that I added to red gem last year. Loaded with blossoms… larger blossoms.
Gold Rush apple.
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@SoMtHomestead … i may have already asked you this…
Do you have Alderman ? and if so… does your Waneta bloom long enough to pollinate with it ?
Or does your American plum ?
I have added Alderman, Superior… Vic Red American plum, Beauty plum.
Beauty is supposed to be a late bloomer.
Hoping I have something in the mix that will pollinate Alderman.
I have also added spring satin plumcot and south mtn eb plumcot.
Thanks
TNHunter
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I am grafting alderman this year so no experience with it yet. My two american plums bloom a week apart so I get plenty of coverage. I need to find something that blooms a week earlier for Toka, it gets the tail end of the chickasaw bloom and the beginning of waneta. My good experience with waneta is what led me to acquire about 20 different american hybrids and select cultivars to trial in the next couple years.
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Hopefully with Vic Red and Beauty… i will have something that pollinates Alderman. May find out next year.
I will let you know.
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Everything bloomed crazy this year but had low temperature of 26F few nights ago. These pictures were taken few days ago. Peaches, Nectarine , Plums , Apricot , Pluots , pears and sweet cherries.
Also need to catch up on pruning .
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Amazing pics! Beautiful!
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3 of my Loquat from seeds. This year will be a big harvest.
My Asian pear from seed. Finally, produce fruit again. Last year 1 flower and no fruit.
My amazing crab apple. Gala was grafted and first time there is bud on the Gala. No bud on the Gala tree itself.
My orange tree. Smell so nice. Last year no flower and this year will be loaded.
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March 29. The only fruit tree flowering is pluot. Don’t see any bees. Temperature 51f. Should be upper 50s tomorrow but coming week mostly high 40s and low 50s.
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That moment that you accidentally root a fig upside down so then you have to plant it weird haha. Figs find a way
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The fig that I did upside down by accident a couple years ago ended up dying when the shoot was about twice that size, hopefully you have better luck! All the right-side-up ones were fine, so I assumed there was some sap flow problem or something. But maybe it was a coincidence.
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Well I turned it sideways and will re-pot it into something where it can lay at an even better angle eventually. I think it will reorient itself with sap flow but it wouldn’t hurt too bad if it failed. I have far too many fig cuttings haha
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