Thank you very much for that, Kevin. And it does sound like you might be onto something. As I said, I’ve lost whole trees this way at times, and other times I’ve lost just a limb to this phenomenon- just like your Sugar Pearls. So I will certainly be looking into the BRBB (M) you just described. Like…going to look into it right now! Thanks.
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My Apricot graft’s flowers look like toast this year.Brown Rot Blossom Blight may be the cause.
The blooms on my Romance Cherries are very susceptible,so I sprayed before they opened,this year,with Spectracide Immunox,a few times,but didn’t think of doing it to the Apricots.
If this stuff works,I’ll be ready next time.bb
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Methley and Shiro plums in full bloom.
Not too many bees on them today due to some rain this morning, last few days they were loaded with mason bees working them over.
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Wow, those are some beautiful trees. What’s the age?
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So I panic bought a fence (seen behind my new Tomcot apricot from Raintree nursery). Right when this madness was starting up I went to Lowe’s and had the 6 foot vinyl fence delivered the next day. I had kinda planned on getting one, but was worried I would not be able to if everything shut down. I was able to put up the 9 panels by myself and was on a role until I hit the gas line with my post hole diggers. The line had been marked by the utility company, but the inspector told me they missed it and it wasn’t my fault. After the five days of waiting for the inspector, which during a global pandemic I found pretty fast, I was able to finish the gate and the last panel.
Jewel black raspberry second year.
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Planted them in 2013. They are my most vigorous trees, I prune off at least five feet of new growth a year
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Beautiful trees! I love your mulched rows, everything looks so nice and tidy and just gorgeous! Hope these provide a plentiful harvest later!!
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Kevin, I would be very glad to host you in a tour of my modest home orchard and give you samples of my fruits. If you ever happen to pass by Delaware, let me know.
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@SpokanePeach Kevin, That’s a very good point! I have had a few small branches die on a couple of cot trees and numerous tiny fruitlets that shriveled and also died. I was wondering what the reason is, and based on your experience, it seems very likely that it is Blossom Brown Rot, as we had a lot of rainy days during bloom this year and even though I initially planned to spray a fungicide during bloom, it was hard to find a good window for that, so I decided to skip and see what happens… Next year, I will make sure I do that spray (last year I sprayed Daconil towards the end of the bloom period, and had no such branch/fruitlet deaths).
I remember too that @fruitgrower had an Orangered tree die in California in a similar fashion, so it seems this is not an eastern US weather related phenomenon.
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That fence is really nice… I wonder if I can get my husband to panic buy one for me for an area of the yard that I want to turn into a nursery (you can see it from the road without a fence). We’ll see… 
The mason bees are waking up. I can hear them chewing.
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A little late here, but if any one here deserves a bumper crop,after all your orchard has been through, it is you my friend.
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i have ordered from Dave Vernon for quite a few years. This year i got an Aunt Rachel like you, Niitaka (sp?) Pear, and Dula Beauty Apple. The pear is actually blooming i have found him to be very fair with good quality trees.
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What a nice thing to say! Between my orchard getting hit by drift twice (one major hit, one minor), my neighbors cows getting out and trampling some of my trees, and then my recent house fire, I do feel like I’ve had my share of bad luck! haha SO maybe this is the universe’s way of trying to even things out! haha. But as I said, its probably not a great idea for me to be boasting about my bumper crop when the shucks aren’t even off most of my fruit! A lot could still go wrong, but I do seem to be on a good track…SO FAR! Thanks again. I hope you have a banner year as well.
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I did the same with my rootstocks a few years ago. I got four crab apple to root out of about ten. I used coarse sand and kept them on the north side of the house. They are still there in a bigger pot. I didn’t need them so I left them out over winter but it looks like they might have survived they are leafing out.
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Our first Daffodils were yesterday too.
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I wish my hearing were as good as your imagination.
One bee I certainly can hear chew is the carpenter bee. They chew those perfectly round holes and I can hear them in the summer from 20’ away!
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