North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Hal Love" <lovehd@comcast.net>]

In far northern areas, spring tends to be very compressed and differences in
bloom times may be slight. Donna's trees grown in Tennessee with a much more
extended spring season may have very widely different bloom times or
different responses to things like mulch vs. no mulch. Rondi, where is your
orchard located?

Hal
zn 6b TN



>
> Rondi,
>     Most of my trees are mulched and they bloom at the same time the
> unmulched trees bloom.  I've got two Honey Crisp Apple Trees, one mulched
> and one not, and they bloom concurrently.
> -- 
>
> Jim Fruth
> Brambleberry Farm
> Pequot Lakes, MN
> www.bberryfarm.com
> Jams, Jellies and Syrups
>
>
>
> Donna's comments about her plums waiting reminded me about something I
> noticed in my orchard this year. Most of my peaches are small and don't
> have mulch around them, but my Contender that I bought and is taller I
> mulched heavily with straw last year because of the drought we were
> experiencing. I didn't pull it away during the winter because the
> drought just never let up until two weeks ago. I noticed this spring
> this tree was about 2 weeks late to blossom compared others in the
> area. The only difference I can see is the mulch.
>
> What I am wondering is if it would make sense to mulch trees that are
> known to bloom before they ought to slow them down? Anyone else have
> experience with this? I would like to hear other such experiences.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rondi