Well, I lost all my experimental (global warming) zone 7/ tender zone 6
stuff this harsh winter, but all the hardy stuff seems to be doing
well. I removed a number of Crandall currant suckers today (gave them
to a friend) and generally puttered, fed, pruned, mulched, etc. I'm
very excited to report that my Puget Gold apricot is going to bloom
this year - I planted it last spring! (I wish the apples were so
exuberant.) I think it will bloom too early, and be frosted out, but
I'm still pleased.
I guess I ought to prune earlier in the season. It was easy to prune
the grape and apple, which are still pretty dormant (although the grape
bled a lot) but painful to prune the budding blueberry and currant.
Redstart has some branches that are rubbing, but it doesn't have many
branches (a rough transplant two years ago) and I'd have to either
remove the strong new shoot or else the one covered in fruiting buds,
and I couldn't bear to do either. Maybe I will prune some more after
it fruits. The feral red currant probably has too many stems, but I
found it hard to cut it back, too. (Also covered with buds)
Unusually, there were no dead branches - usually the oldest branches
die over the winter from borers or something, so in the past it's been
very easy to prune in the spring. In fact, I have been in the habit of
waiting until the buds swelled to more easily see which branches died,
and remove them.
The blueberries had enough issues that I'm a little worried. The ends
of several young branches were black and curled up - looks like
pictures of fireblight, although I don't think that affects
blueberries. I'm hoping it's just winterkill. There was also a large
canker on a big stem. Even though the affected stem had a lot of
fruiting buds emerging, I removed it, in case it's infectious. (Also,
those buds were a little behind - I think the canker was slowing
sap-flow, and I don't know if the stem would have been able to support
the fruit.) I saw the canker last year, but assumed it was just
mechanical damage. But it seemed worse this spring. Still, the
blueberries are looking good, and I'm hopeful of a crop. Good except
for one plant in the same spot where a prior bush died. There must be
something wrong with that spot. Maybe the drainage is bad, as it's a
little lower than the others in the row, and over a rock. I wonder if
it would help if I removed the plant, added a lot more soil to build up
the spot, and re-planted the plant? Any suggestions? (and if that
makes sense, what time of year would you do it? Maybe next weekend?)
My project for this year is to kill back the grass from close to my
fruits. The blueberries have an extra 18" of mulched space, and the
apple tree will, soon. (It already has an extra 6" or so, as I put a
lot of leaves over the grass this winter, and that seems to have
inhibited the grass.) The currants and raspberries are so productive
that it doesn't seem necessary (and the raspberries actually have a lot
of space). I think I need to restrict the grape anyway, so I'll leave
it alone. The Meyers lemon has so little root that I don't think it is
competing with grass, despite living in a small hole. But the apricot
may get more mulch, too.
Hoping others are enjoying the spring as much as I am.