Yes, Flavor Punch is an excellent setter, same are F King, F Grenade, GeoPride, Dapple Dandy and F Finale.
i should have done that on 2 branches on my black ice plum tree. lost both but they we bad crotch angles i should have pruned them out when i planted it and just forgot about them. nature took care of them for me. they remained just attached enough to continue to ripen the fruit which was fabulous this year.
Iâve been working through the Flavor Punch from the fridge. Most of the ones picked September 5th were top-notch, excellent fruit. 22-23 brix, great flavor and still a bit crunchy. Thatâs the perfect spot that I should make sure to pick them at in the future. At least, any that I have left after picking earlier ones.
I did pick a batch around September 1st that arenât quite as ripe. I had two this morning and the 20 brix one was very good, while the 16-17 brix one wasnât bad, but didnât live up to the others. I figured Iâd post a pic, as the amount of dark color just under the skin seems to be correlated with brix.
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Flavor Punch is an excellent pluerry, definitely a keeper for me (better than F Grenade). I also havenât seen any Black Knot on it, have you?
Yes, mine has had quite a bit. Not as bad as some Euro plums, but at least an average level. Even Middleburg, reputed for being black knot resistant, has some in my yard.
Do you have Candy Heart? This too havenât contracted BK yet in my yard.
No, I donât think Iâve grown that one.
It is worth growing, it is excellent.
im still eating black ice plums from the crisper. not only is the skin dark purple but the flesh is deep red as well. has a pink juice. very good but ive never had any other fresh plums to compare to. 100% better than any store bought. i have 2 other plums and 3 apicots grafted on it. they are 2 and 3 year old grafts . hopefully they fruit next summer. i may put in a toka next spring and graft some more apricots on it as well.
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Here in the Hudson valley this record warm front with highs in the mid 70s has led to some of my stone fruits starting to get swollen buds (some peaches, my valentine bush cherry). Hopefully they donât get zapped by the frost as still expect frost for another 6-8 weeks
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This has been a short warm spell and the word record can be misleading. Temps may be a degree or 2 higher than previous warm spells at this time, but it is the ones that last a couple more days that I fear. Weâve had mild winters where buds were swollen in Dec. I think your buds are still capable of surviving temps down to the upper single digits.
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Wow you guys hit 70s up there? Today is the first day we hit above 50 i think where i am on long island. Surprised its that different though i guess the oceans moderates swings
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Just saw this. I think Poughkeepsie hit 78 which was the highest ever recorded in early March. Iâm a bit south and very close to the Hudson which slightly moderates my temps. But like Alan said it was only a day or two of warmth followed by cold again.
And Alan was right , my trees have not really woken up much since. Just a bit more green on the stone fruit and serviceberry buds. Apples and pears still asleep.
Yeah Long Island definitely has a much more mild climate to being between the Atlantic and the sound. Depending how things play out where I am, I may end up moving down there. Will have to figure out how to move my trees if I do.
A month later and the trees are still waking up. Got my first peach bloom (redhaven) today. I also noticed my
White lady peach died. Oh well. Wouldnât bother trying to grow that variety again. I ordered a whole bunch of peach scions in the fall and donât really have where to graft them at this point.
Glad it hasnât been too warm of a spring. I see in some of the warmer areas more south of our region the trees have already bloomed and the cold front is more of a threat.
My J plums are at green cluster with a little white showing. It is a little after 4:30 and about 24 F in my orchard right now. I do hope it doesnât drop another point.
At least if it does, I will test how throwing huge tarps over my fave J. plum and a couple of very good pluots pans out. The wind came up strong when I was tarping the two close growing pluots and it became one of the most difficult jobs Iâve ever done. I need a pole that grips tarps somehow. Overnight it occured to me that I could have used short pieces of rope tied between close gromets on the side I was pulling over the trees and maybe been able to pull the tarps against the wind better by fitting my 8 ft pole inside the rope. Also, that I should have started the pull from the windward side. Sometimes spring makes me too tired to think.
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Some of my apples are between green tip and half inch green. Got down to 23 for a few hours overnight. I put wool socks over a few buds I hope to get pollen from. Hoping everything will make it through.
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No signs of any life up here yetâŚmaybe a little green grass starting before the 3â+ of snowfall yesterday. The forsythia are still dormant. Some of the tiger lilies against the foundation are starting to poke up.
Those temps shouldnât be a problem at this point. I doubt wool socks would help. The cold will go right through them and the tree is not generating heat. The tarp protection comes from ground heat.
Mid April now, my redhaven bloomed a week ago. Looks like all the petals have fallen , though to be honest their blooms are pretty lackluster so itâs hard to tell when theyâre done. It was pretty warm and the bees have been active the last few days at least.
My contender is at peak bloom, really beautiful blooms for the short time theyâre out.
My Asian pears will reach peak bloom soon. Forgot that they bloom so early (earlier than my cherry and some of my service berries) but they donât seem to mind some of the mild frosts that usually come in late April to early May.
Iâve got bloomed apricot tree, cherries and pears opening their first flowers, and the first green shoots poking through the top of my pawpaw rootstock. Really hoping I escape a frost next week.