I am a new fruit grower (almost 2 years in) and I hear Tom Spellman quite often talk about fruiting wood. As a new fruit grower, I am curious as to what I am looking for to see if I do indeed have fruiting wood on my trees.
I took a few snapshots of my trees over the weekend. Here is the Craig’s Crimson cherry and an Enterprise apple. Do you see any fruiting wood in these photos?
Craig’s Crimson Cherry
Enterprise Apple
None on that cherry. It needs fat buds which can be on current growth but mostly on spurs. In cherry spurs form the second yr and flower in the third. On a mature tree there are some flowers on the base of last yrs wood.
Probably none on that apple either. I do see a spur but again don’t see any fat buds.
Do you happen to have any pictures of what I am to be looking for? I see some bumps on my peaches, but I am starting to wonder if my Methley is actually a plum (it is the only plum I currently have) as it doesn’t look like there is anything that would throw up a flower on that tree. Now, my Stark Sugarsweet pear has been growing gangbusters for me for 2 years now. It does look like it has some fat buds.
Methley plum (first leaf):
Stark Sugarsweet Pear:
Here’s some cherries with very old fruit spurs. Flower buds at tips and bare wood of last 4-5 yrs of flowering:
Here’s a picture of cherry buds on one and two yr old wood. New wood, above the L, has fat buds at base. Some of those are flower buds. The older wood below has fat buds on new spurs.
Flower buds on peach. Outside two are flower center vegetative:
Flower buds on apricot:
I don’t see flower buds on your plum. The pear does have some buds that might be flowers. It’s harder to tell on apple and pear than on stone fruit.
Awesome pictures…thanks a ton. That really helps. Now I know what I am looking for.
You know, my peach buds are not as pronounced as yours. These are on peach trees that flowered last year and produced a few fruit as well.
Red Globe Peach
If your Redglobe had fruit this yr it should flower next yr. I don’t see many obvious flower buds in your pic, it’s hard getting a good pic. That’s mostly older wood. The flower buds on peach are only on this yrs growth. That can include short stems on older wood that almost look like spurs. Sort of like that small stem down low
