How far along are your trees 2019?

So, sorry.

Maybe, cut those flowers and put them in vases in every room in your house. If your other varieties need cross pollination, this is it.

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My nose is not that good. I can’t recall Shiro being very fragrant but it is a indeed very prolific bloomer and an excellent candidate for cross pollination.

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Young Overleese Pawpaw in bloom.bb

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Well, yes, on a hill…and as much as 20 degrees warmer on still spring mornings compared to just 2 miles away in the valley.

(In 2003 I had a new patch of strawberries…and picked my first ripe berry last Saturday of April. Normal strawberry harvest in the area is May 20 to June 20. They were Earliglow berries…best variety for early harvests, but berries become quite small after first couple pickings. Wonderfully tasty for everything you can use strawberries for.)

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Seeing pretty definite signs of bud swell now on most trees - I figure they’re still alive

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Stark Bros purchased Millers after one of the brothers passed and the other decided it was time to retire. I really don’t see much of the Miller stuff influencing the Stark Bros offerings at this point.

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Actually, yes, Stark is offering about 500% more apple trees than just 3 or 5 years ago…and many of them were in the Miller catalogs from days gone by.

I had Niedzwetzkyana in full bloom and Granny Smith with first blooms opening Tuesday. Tomorrow I plan to spend some time with the apples…and I am thinking by the 20th bloom will be over here in Somerset, KY area.

I used to (over 20 years ago) rent out honeybees to the largest orchard in the county. About 6th or 8th through 25th of April was typical for the commercial varieties of apples. I seem to remember Rome Beauties were about the last to bloom. Granny Smith being first.

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So many flowers. How old is your Overleese?

Maybe 4 years and about four feet tall.Hopefully next time,there will be fruit.bb

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Our Earliglows gave us our first crop last year, along with Jewel. Yes, the EG is very good, but small to begin with and then get smaller. Jewel were bigger and had a longer lasting crop, but not as sweet. I’m supposed to have some Flavorfest come in soon from the county Ag office, so I’ll be adding those to the patch.

Ours get going later in April, sometimes finishing in early May. Hope to see lots of new blooms on our ‘new’ trees later this month.

Do you have any peaches, and if so, are they blooming yet?

I probably exaggerated a little, it is much more fragrant than methely, but I.have other varieties that are similar to shiro. Shiro may be more normal, methely could be the exception.

I see Starkbro now sale many grapes that was in miller’s catalog

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My peaches, Bob, only had like 2 crops … and the trees don’t live nearly as long as apples.
When I mentioned pollination…yes some trees “finish blooming” in May…but a commercial orchard has to begin their spraying regimen…and that means the bees have to be moved.
So, once the early blooms on the later varieties have had a chance for pollination, the bees are removed form the area (to keep them from being killed).

You are correct that the southern tier of counties in Kentucky … let’s just say ‘spring’ arrives a week or two earlier than places like Morehead or Falmouth or Grayson…you get the idea.

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Blue Berry:


Sweet cherry:

Toka plum:

Carmine Jewel :

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The only tree showing green so far is sour cherry.

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does the flower grow before the leaves or same time? i only see green leaves on mine this year. i think no bloom = no fruit this year for me.

Flowers comes first, and leaves start to slowly appear a little bit later

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Shortys had 20% off sale is reason I bought it, and yes all shoppers were shocked that persimmon trees jacked up this year! Other trees remain about $35 before any sale. The type is Fuyo Jiro.

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That is a horrid loss.
Besides using its blossoms and grafting onto other trees trunks, you get to use the wood for carving and BBQs.
Bright side: will the fruit wood impart good flavor to foods smoked in it?
You can make a bird house out of some of it too.
Trees give us in death a lot of fun too!

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Sour cherries have bloomed or are blooming in the Lake Cumberland area.
Not too many apples have bloomed yet…but a week from now that won’t be the case. A week of 60’s and 70’s and it will all come fast now! (Let’s just hope no more nights below 30 or 32 after bloom and fruit set.)
I plan to visit the orchard later today. I may even try to hand pollinate a thing or two…with pollen from the red fleshed apple that bloomed last week.

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