Yesterday I took advantage of a break in the deluge to check for flower buds. I take great delight in the yearly ritual and make notes to savor later. The following varieties will most likely give me new taste treats: Airlie’s Red Flesh, Discovery, Danube cherry, Egremont Russet, Erwin Baur, Lamb Abbey Pearmain, Opal plum, Imperial Epineuse plum, Rubinette, St. Edmund’s Pippin and Wickson. Yes I know not all will produce fruit necessarily, especially the young plums, but I am liking their K1 rootstock so far. Who else is dancing a happy dance?
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Don’t count your chickens before they hatch!
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I know it isn’t a guaranteed thing but I welcome some positive signs.
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The late frosts got me again, but I will have blueberries, strawberries, and various brambles, definitely. I expect to have jostaberries, but they haven’t yet bloomed. Probably figs (I’d expect, later). Elderberries? Mine may be too young still. And American plum if the tree does a good job of pollinating itself. So still fun and tasty.
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Sounds like a lot of tasty fruit. The wind was gusting pretty hard today so I had to move my portable new grafts indoors for the day. Spring has been slow to come here. I hope my cherries produce something. I wonder if the wind can pollinate a self fertile tree.
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I don’t know. Some trees are pollinated by wind, but I never remember which.
It was really windy here, too! I was mowing and it got very, very cold, lol. I couldn’t feel my (bare) feet by the end of it, so I went on inside.
It looks like a great year here in the Northern Midwest. Plums, peaches, cherries tart and sweet, raspberries, blackberries, elderberries, currants, gooseberries, honeyberries, strawberries,blueberries, and figs. I don’t grow apples, or other fruit, but added many new fruit this year. Mulberries, paw paws, and serviceberries. Too young for a harvest.Not to mention the annual vegetables I grow. Seed starting went good this year.
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I share your enthusiasm for fruit bud watching. The list below is some varieties that I have that should fruit for the first time.
Pears: Harrow Sweet, Korean Giant
Apples: Hackworth, Williams Pride, Carolina Red June, Red Rebel, Liberty, Pristine
Enterprise, Gold Rush, Red Delicious, Stayman Winesap, Anna, Yates
Nectarine: Sun Red
Muscadines: Supreme, Black Beauty
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I am continually amazed at how much fruit you grow. BTW I ordered some blackberries after reading your thread: Marionberry and Siskiyou from Rolling River. I tell myself well if Drew can…
That is cool you are helping to keep those Southern varieties afloat. I hope you will post taste reports. That Harrow Sweet is something else. My 2016 graft was trying to bloom already.
This year for the first time I will get Goldcot apricot, Mericrest Nectarine, and Reliance and Intrepid peach. Some of my first grafts from 2 years ago will start bearing this year also so that will be fun.
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I never realized those stone fruit would grow for you in zone 4. Looks like I might have to try a peach or two after all. I agree it is very fulfilling with our grafts especially to see buds set.
Too early to tell yet for most things, but I have a second year Chinese/Morman apricot in a container that has set some fruit. It also has two small Zard grafts that also set some fruit. Next year I might keep the Apricot outside all winter because it bloomed way too early (around late Feb) in the garage. Also have an LSU Purple Fig that survived the winter in the garage and seems to have a bunch of little figs starting.
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Carole,
That’s awesome.
I have spurs/flowers on…
1 plum
1 pear
4 varieties of cherries
2 varieties of white peaches
6 varieties of yellow peaches
13 varieties of apples
A few blueberries
The following have a particularly strong set of flowers and I have the most confidence they will fruit:
Harrow Sweet pear (self pollinating)
Whitegold cherry
Baby Crawford yellow peach
White Lady white peach
Blushingstar white peach
Redhaven yellow peach
Harrow Diamond yellow peach
Ginger Gold apple
Rubinette apple
Gravenstein apple
Myers’ Royal Limbertwig apple
Honeycrisp apple
Williams’ Pride apple
Climax blueberry
Northblue blueberry
Northcountry blueberry
Northsky blueberry
Reka blueberry
Brunswick blueberry
Yay!
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We’ll have to compare notes on Carolina Red June. Mine looks like it might fruit for the first time this year.
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I see first ever blossoms on many apples I’ve waited years to taste: Red Royal Limbertwig, Caney Fork LImbertwig, Myers Royal Limbertwig, possibly Slemp Limbertwig, Parks Pippin, Junaluska, Buckingham, Nickajack, Benham, Kentucky Limbertwig, Aunt Rachel, Boskoop, Williams Pride,
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I sympathize with all the pot hauling that happens in container gardening. All of my fruits are in pots here. Enjoy your new fruit. Such a treat.
Wow lots of great things to look forward to. This is such a great, rewarding hobby to have. That Reka blue is a nice productive variety. My resistance to growing peaches is melting. What can one do which so many new things to try out?
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Hambone, great collection of Southern heritage apples. I really look toward to a taste report since I have only tried Nickajack and William’s Pride. My WP is finally come of age to be loaded with flowers.
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Thanks Quill. Please describe taste, texture of Nickajack. Written descriptions of Nickajack vary so much it sounds like they are not reviewing the same apple. One said its main attribute was it cropped annually. Faint praise. Others sound like it’s pretty good to eat fresh.