To: NAFEX Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [NAFEX] apple blooming too much?
Date: Sat, 2 May 2009 07:19:26 -0400
I have a small Ashmeads Kernal on M7, with two Karmijn grafts on it.
The tree has been in the ground a couple of years. It is about 4 feet
tall and has lots of root competition, as it's planted on the edge of
a wooded area. It also has moderate winter-moth damage. I've had
winter moth troubles for the past few years, have treated aggressively
with spinosad the last two, and treated a little less aggressively
this year.
This year it is covered in flower buds. Maybe the amount of flowering
is normal in some conditions, but it's way in excess of what I've ever
seen on my eating-apples. It looks more like the ornamental crabs.
(We have wild seedling crabs all over the place, but even for being
random seedlings, they are very ornamental this week.) None of my
other domestic apples has anything like the density of flower buds --
the two trees I planted at the same time (golden russet on one of the
new geneva rootstocks, G30, and Tydemans late Orange on M111, all
planted spring '05) don't plan to bloom this year.
Should I be worried? Should I remove the blossoms? Most of the
blossoms? There's even a flower cluster on one of the Karmijn grafts,
which I'm oh so tempted to allow to fruit.
Thanks,
Ginda Fisher
eastern Mass., zone 6
where the crab apples are at peak bloom, and the eating apples are
just beginning to bloom. Mmmm, perfumed air.
[NAFEX] apple blooming too much?,
Ginda Fisher, 05/02/2009