Flavor Supreme Breaks My Heart

Duh! :blush:

The third one is definitely a honeybee, Stan. The second looks like some kind of yellow jacket from that angle. I don’t know if the first is a bee or fly, either. Both can move pollen. There’s a moth that accomplishes most of the pollination on my blueberries, and does a very good job of it.

I was told by an extension specialist that you needed to add 200 chill hours to the California estimated chill hours if your are Texas. That probably means if you are in an area that has many days of warm weather in the winter. If that is the case I will be on the extreme southern end of the Flavor Supreme pluot. It is rated 5-600 and that is what I average. This year I only got 425 and nothing but warm temperatures in the 10 day forecast. Last year I had over 800 hours.

I think you need to look at the Utah model. It accounts for climates where warm days cancel out cold ones.

Well,according to the Utah model I have minus 495 hours. Positive Utah says I have 625. I know I can’t have less than 0 hours nor 625 hours this year. Both of those numbers are useless to me. Chill hours is more complicated in high humid low chill areas. The 400 hour chill peaches are starting to bloom which I guess this year is about right. But they were rated in the eastern US. We have had enough warm temperatures to start blooming, though I wish we didn’t. I did find out today that in 1899 Beaumont had a low of 4 degrees and Dallas had a low of minus 8. It is amazing how different the years can be.

The first photo could be a Mason,second maybe some kind of Hover or Syrphid Fly and I agree about the third picture being that of a Honeybee.
Does your moth look anything like this one Muddy? Brady

That’s her! I love watching those. They seem to vanish the rest of the year, and only appear to service the blueberries.

She’s a Bee fly. Brady

I had been told that was a moth. Fly or not, I find them attractive and interesting to watch. Very active creatures. Thank you for setting me straight!

It is the most beautiful FS I have ever seen in my live!

Yes SteveM,
Your Flavor Supreme is very beautiful. If time allows, please post the stages of development to harvest time!:yum:. I love this tree and I am anxiously awaiting for mine to blossom too. Right now, I see green peeking out, so I know that bloom time is not far away here in Georgia. The form of your tree is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Stan and Brady! I discovered a new pollinator in my yard.

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Not to go too far off track here but I really noticed a lot more pollinators on my Nanking cherries last spring. Maybe I am just paying more attention but I know we have fewer honey bees now and seems that native bees and wasps are more prevalent now. I believe I read somewhere that honey bees had starved many native pollinators out.

Here’s my Flavor Supreme graft:

Looks to me that what few flowers are on FS are mainly on branches bent towards horizontal. I’d bend some more.

As for crying, at least you have flowers. I have a FS. I have no idea why I ordered it. I must have been thinking of something else. I know I wasn’t thinking. Beautiful tree in ts fourth leaf. It has started to become my frankentree this year. Good grafting experience and allows me to back up some Prunus cultivars likely doomed on Citation.

Which prunus cultivars are you grafting?

Well, maybe…too early to tell I guess. But after some furious hand pollination, I have a decent initial fruit set.

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a good choice ! What Pollinator?

Flavor King

This year is turning out to be a lot better. Funny, since I got lesser chill hours than last year! My other plum/pluots are a bit behind but I’m confident they’ll catch up soon.

Hopefully, hover flies do the pollination. Bees nowhere to be seen!

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