Yeah, it just started growing real quickly all of a sudden. I like that it stays dormant for that long. The mulberries and jujubes started growing recently as well. Sounds like a good plan. Hopefully that works well for you. I know NG is supposedly a smaller sized tree, though I don’t know how much being on virginiana rootstock affects that.
Beware
last year had 1 or 2 spotted lanternfly.
this year hundreds of young ones, maybe more, mostly on grapes-
pgh area 15212.
I reported
on PA website
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I have blooms on Nikita’s Gift, all three of them!!! I’m hoping to try at least one fruit this year.
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Nice! My NG has loads of flower buds, but none of them have opened up quite yet. It looks like they are very close to blooming though. My Yates and Prok have been in bloom for about a week now.
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Still holding on to those 3 fruit! I’ve been watering through the drought, I’m sure it helped. It’s been bone dry here for a while up until last night. I’m betting they’ll make it and the deer will find a way to ruin my plans right at the end…
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So all 3 Nikita’s Gift fruit have fallen… I am wondering if it really needs babied to keep anything based on experience from @mamuang.
In other news, yesterday I squashed a green stink bug, brown stink bug, 4th instar and an adult spotted lantern fly on my willow tree while pruning it. I need to become one with the bug guts, or just wear gloves more often.
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Yep, same here. My NG just finished dropping all of its fruits as well, and it had loads of fruits on it this year. I’ve had dropping issues with the American persimmons as well. I think I might trade for some male scionwood to graft a few branches with next year. Seeded fruit sounds a hell of a lot better than no fruit!
The SLFs are that close now, huh? I guess it won’t be long now before I start seeing them here too. How many do you think you’ve seen so far this year?
Hot, dry weather causes massive fruit drop. In the absence of rain, I water deeply once per week. Not needed in cooler weather. Fruit drop is a defensive mechanism. I’ve seen overladen persimmon trees dying due to failure to drop fruit.
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Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your experiences!
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Strangely I just used the rail system a few weeks ago for the first time and I’ve lived near Pittsburgh my whole life. It was a reasonable experience and free for the route I used.
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Hello! I live in Brookline. I am primarily a climber but I enjoy foraging in the fall and spring. This year instead of just looking for mushrooms, I was on the lookout for some pawpaws! I was able to get some and am looking to plant the seeds…somewhere. My family has property around the yough river lake and was thinking that could be a prime spot. I have never grown anything in my life but I know that they like to be near ravines, and the Yough is surrounded by ravines. If anyone has a better idea for planting locations let me know and I’ll try and get out there!
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Welcome to the forum Seth! Quick note on pawpaw seeds since you are starting out- you want to keep them damp and cold stratify in the refrigerator for 100 days minimum for good germination rates prior to planting. Some people put them in a plastic bag with paper towels or moistened peat moss or coconut coir. Just check periodically for mold and make sure you get all the pulp off prior to the stratification.
I’d honestly recommend planting them near home at a park you frequently use to enjoy them later on. I know for sure that pawpaws already exist at Yough Lake. You just need to find them!
Got it! Thanks!
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Anyone interested in large Styrofoam blocks (about 6"x6"x4’) or heavy duty used baffle curtains (would make a great row cover). These would be a heavy duty version of woven greotextile type material. I can think of a few ways to use them but squares directly around trees to reduce weeds, frost blankets in lieu of tarps, you get the idea.
I am considering turning broken parts of the Styrofoam into a concrete amendment for fence posts.
Forbes State Forest is excited to announce the date for our annual Making the Most of Your Piece of Nature Sustainable Backyard Workshop. Save the date for Saturday, April 22, 2023 - the workshop will be taking place from 9AM - 12PM at Mammoth Park, in Westmoreland County. Additional information including speaker lineup, as well as registration information will be available soon.
I will likely be a speaker at this event if anyone is interested in learning about fruit trees 
Guys, it’s really bad out there. Stay safe and happy holidays!
Super warm February and now an extra cold March. Hope this cold snap slows down the trees from blooming too early. I was afraid everything would bloom in March.
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Yea I hope everything stays asleep a bit longer too. It’s almost like our February and March switched for what I’d expect.
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Plums and peaches bloomed today. About a week and a half earlier than last year, which was a week earlier than the year before.
Peach tree was hit pretty hard by the late March freezes and the high winds. Probably lost 70% of its blooms, but I delayed pruning so I still have some buds at least.
Two week forecast looks good for pollination at least so hopefully the warm holds.
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