[NAFEX] Cornus Mas, and other spring stuff

Ginda Fisher list at ginda.us
Sat May 2 10:35:34 EDT 2009


How about that, my Cornus Mas all have tags.  They are Elegant,  
Jolico, and Pioneer.  Elegant and Pioneer set a lot of fruit this  
spring, we'll see if any of it survives to ripen.  Jolico is a few  
years younger, but bloomed this year for the first time, so I expect  
it to fruit in a year or two.  It may not be a coincidence that  
Elegant finally set fruit the same year Jolico bloomed.  (The two are  
close, and Pioneer is a ways downwind.)

The apricot set lots of fruit, but I expect to lose it again.   
Squirrels, curlicue, I don't know, but the fruits disappear before  
they ripen.  I see some on the ground, but some just disappear.  It's  
an attractive small tree, though.

The blueberries are covered in bloom, and I bought new netting, so I'm  
hopeful of a crop.  Had the place sprayed (spinosad) for winter moth  
right before the flowers opened, so I hope I have some bees left.  I  
did see a lone bumblebee working the dandelions the day after the tree  
guys showed up, so there's a good chance.

And I'm thrilled that my red currants not only made it through the  
winter, they seem not to have lost any branches to mystery blight.  I  
usually lose a bunch of canes over the winter.  Both the feral currant  
and Jonkheer Van Tets are covered with flowers.

Back outside to enjoy the fragrance.

Ginda


On Apr 2, 2009, at 9:05 AM, Ginda Fisher wrote:

> I have three, all different types.  They were purchased from 2  
> different
> vendors, a few years apart.  They are in partial shade (maybe 75%)   
> I have
> lost track of the names of the cultivars, but all are selections  
> intended
> to be eaten.  I might be able to look it up, but one was a  
> replacement for
> a tree that failed, and wasn't the same type, so I may have no
> documentation on that one.
>
> The one that fruited is downwind of the other two (and gets less  
> sun).  I
> wonder if the direction matters.  It set fruit last year, too, but the
> fruit all went away well before ripening.  I suspect squirrels.
> ___
> Ginda
>
> ...... Original Message .......
> On Thu, 2 Apr 2009 04:23:01 -0700 (PDT) John S <swim_at_svc at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>> Ginda,  What variety of C. mas are you growing?  Do you have  
>> another type
> for a pollinator?
>>
>>
>>
>> --- On Sun, 3/29/09, Ginda Fisher <list at ginda.us> wrote:
>>
>>
>> From: Ginda Fisher <list at ginda.us>
>> Subject: [NAFEX] spring clean-up
>> To: "NAFEX Fruit Explorers" <nafex at lists.ibiblio.org>
>> Date: Sunday, March 29, 2009, 11:40 PM
>>
>> I pruned my grape vine.  Just in time - it seems it had gotten all
>> tangled in the apricot tree, and the apricot buds have already begun
>> to swell.  And some of the apricot branches show minor damage from  
>> the
>> grape tendrils.  I think I'll discourage it from growing into the
>> apricot altogether this year, and I'm glad I got it out this spring.
>>
>> The cornus mas buds are large, and will open with another day or two
>> of warm weather.  I got one fruit the year before last.  I'm hopeful
>> of a little fruit this year.  (I liked the one fruit I got.)
>>
>> My dad, who nearly died last year, and has been slowly regaining his
>> health, was strong enough to plant tomatoes in his basement
>> yesterday.  I'll bum some seedlings off of him when the time comes,
>> but I'm just tickled pink that he was able to do it at all.
>>
>> My currant appears to still be alive.  At least, I'm hopeful I  
>> haven't
>> lost it to mystery blight yet.  If anyone knows what causes decline  
>> in
>> red currants, and better yet, if anyone knows a treatment, please let
>> me know.
>>
>> The blueberries have a nice crop of buds.  I guess I'd better get  
>> some
>> new netting in the hopes of getting fruit this year.  The raspberries
>> are still very dormant.
>>
>> The new blueberries and raspberries that I put in on the edge of the
>> property seem to have been extensively prunes by the deer over the
>> winter.  Drat.
>>
>> There are other, non-fruit, signs of life in my garden, but I think
>> I'll stick to fruit news for today.
>>
>> all the best,
>>
>>
>> Ginda Fisher
>> Eastern MA, zone 6
>>



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