Buds Flowers and Fruit - 2024 Edition

TNHunter · April 3, 2024, 11:16am

@ztom… my two jplum trees are AU Rosa and Shiro.

This was year 2 in ground here for them.

Last spring I added a graft of AU Producer to my AU Rosa.

This spring after a year in ground AU Rosa opened first blooms March 1.

My graft of AU Producer and my Shiro tree started blooming 4 or 5 days later. AU Rosa was still blooming some when they started.

AU Rosa is self fertile and will set heavy loads of fruit with no other pollinator… it did that last spring.

But now my later AU Rosa blossoms have AU Producer and Shiro to pollinate with.

This spring I added grafts (looking successful) of Beauty (a late bloomer) Spring Satin plumcot, South Mtn EB plumcot, Alderman, Superior, Vic Red american plum.

I am hoping that the late bloomer Alderman… will bloom with either Beauty or Vic Red.

Hopefully get to find out next spring.

My Jplums almost always bloom and set fruit (early to mid March)… then get frosted (mid to upper 20s) and drop fruit.

Happened last year and again this year… last year dropped all fruit this year dropped most… retaining a small amount.

I need later bloomers to hopefully get me past that problem in some years.

I tried to find out for sure which other jplums or hybrids or americans bloom with alderman… but never got a positive ID on that.

Waneta is a possible suspect.

Right now my EU Plum Mt Royal is giving me the most plum crop hope. It starts blooming 3 weeks after AU Rosa… and is in full bloom right now first week in April.

In some years we get mid to upper 20s in early to mid April.
Hope this year is nicer than that.

TNHunter · April 3, 2024, 6:46pm

Got to smell Crandall clove currants today… nice.

The elders are doing well…

MY LAPINS has CHERRIES. !!!

Hope we get to eat some of those.

fruitbat · April 3, 2024, 6:50pm

First blooms are a bit of a cheat because this apple bench graft was indoors until today but they smell amazing! The actual apple trees have weeks to go.

This cultivar is Ancuţa, a ridiculously tasty Romanian apple that I really hope will take because I first tried them last autumn and I’m still thinking about how good they were.

armeniangreg · April 3, 2024, 9:35pm

My first apple to bloom will be Katharine. It is a one year old graft onto my Waltana tree. Im excited to taste it side by side with Waltana.

Our wisteria is blooming now too. It boarders our mini orchard. I love the smell of these flowers.

OldKYHomestead · April 4, 2024, 3:15pm

Weeping cherry. Any grafting experts know if you can graft this over to something edible?

sockworth · April 4, 2024, 4:46pm

It may also depend on what type of cherry scion you want to graft. I’m no expert but I would think your chances are high enough to experiment with.

Here’s a semi related thread on Yoshino. Yours may be a Higan?

SoMtHomestead · April 5, 2024, 12:36am

Waneta and Carmine Jewel Just past peak:

OldKYHomestead · April 5, 2024, 1:30am

Based on what I can tell, it looks like Higan cherry to me. It seems like it’s often grafted on Mazzard rootstock so it’s at least compatible with that. I might give it a try next year.

OldKYHomestead · April 5, 2024, 1:33am

First strawberry blossoms of the year, Seascape

First blueberry blossoms, Reka

evilpaul · April 5, 2024, 7:39am

What are the fruit on those like?

SoCalBackyard · April 5, 2024, 8:12am

My lone Lapin Cherry has buds that look like your cherry buds. But it did the same last year and zero buds opened. Let’s see what it does this year.

TNHunter · April 5, 2024, 12:15pm

@SoCalBackyard … my lapins cherry looked like it might bloom and fruit in years 4 5 6… had fruit spurs… but nothing but leaves came out of them…

This year… year 7… finally blossoms and lots of them. I have fruit on now… lots of fruit.

It may make you wait a while but hang in there.
It is comming.

swincher · April 5, 2024, 1:04pm

In local woods I don’t usually see many ripe ones (birds find them first I’m guessing), but the few I’ve found were OK but somewhat bland. I figure I can add them to a jam or jelly if I don’t end up liking the fruit on this one. Or use it as a rootstock for some other Ribes if it’s really insipid.

wdingus · April 5, 2024, 3:36pm

Around the orchard this spring…

SoCalBackyard · April 5, 2024, 5:25pm

Yessss! I was super encouraged by that series of posts by you. TBH that’s what encouraged me to not get rid of it. Looking awesome with the little cherries!