It's happened again

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Puester said:

The past two weeks have been gorgeous here, warm and sunny.

As a result, our two apricot trees were covered with flowers so thickly
it looked as though they had been sprayed with whipped cream or shaving
cream. There were bees everywhere.

Tuesday we had quite a bit of wind and many flower petals blew off,
looking like a snow squall. That didn't matter much since the flowers
had been pollinated.

This morning we woke up to 3 inches of snow and 28 degree temperature.

This sounds similar to our last couple of weeks in Northern Nevada. We
had temperatures up to eighty, the apricot blossoms bloomed, then snow
and temps down to twenty eight ensued.
I look at what has happened differently. The apricot tree is in my
neighbor's yard. When it produces, the high branches over my yard rain
down one or two hundred pounds of apricots in a month or so. Each has a
hole or two pecked into it. I pick up all of them before mowing once a
week, and none look attractive. Years ago, I had a Golden Retriever that
liked to lay in the riper ones.
I really can't describe what he looked like in apricot condition. Ewwww.

leo

--
<http://web0.greatbasin.net/~leo/>

Puester said:

The past two weeks have been gorgeous here, warm and sunny.

As a result, our two apricot trees were covered with flowers so thickly
it looked as though they had been sprayed with whipped cream or shaving
cream. There were bees everywhere.

Tuesday we had quite a bit of wind and many flower petals blew off,
looking like a snow squall. That didn't matter much since the flowers
had been pollinated.

This morning we woke up to 3 inches of snow and 28 degree temperature.

OB food: It looks as though it will be another year of buying apricots
for our jam-making. I'm wondering how it will affect the day lilies,
iris, lupines and other perennials that are ~6 inches tall already.

That is the problem with apricots around here. They tend to bloom early and
are often wiped out by frost.

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Puester said:

The past two weeks have been gorgeous here, warm and sunny.

As a result, our two apricot trees were covered with flowers so thickly
it looked as though they had been sprayed with whipped cream or shaving
cream. There were bees everywhere.

Tuesday we had quite a bit of wind and many flower petals blew off,
looking like a snow squall. That didn't matter much since the flowers
had been pollinated.

This morning we woke up to 3 inches of snow and 28 degree temperature.

OB food: It looks as though it will be another year of buying apricots
for our jam-making. I'm wondering how it will affect the day lilies,
iris, lupines and other perennials that are ~6 inches tall already.

My sympathies. Our apricot tree in the "back 40" (square ft, not acres)
bloomed two weeks ago. We have had some cool temps since, but not
freezing. Whether we'll see apricots this year (and beat the squirrels
to them) is an open question.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

Cindy Fuller said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Puester said:

The past two weeks have been gorgeous here, warm and sunny.

As a result, our two apricot trees were covered with flowers so thickly
it looked as though they had been sprayed with whipped cream or shaving
cream. There were bees everywhere.

Tuesday we had quite a bit of wind and many flower petals blew off,
looking like a snow squall. That didn't matter much since the flowers
had been pollinated.

This morning we woke up to 3 inches of snow and 28 degree temperature.

OB food: It looks as though it will be another year of buying apricots
for our jam-making. I'm wondering how it will affect the day lilies,
iris, lupines and other perennials that are ~6 inches tall already.

My sympathies. Our apricot tree in the "back 40" (square ft, not acres)
bloomed two weeks ago. We have had some cool temps since, but not
freezing. Whether we'll see apricots this year (and beat the squirrels
to them) is an open question.

Do apricot trees require two trees for cross-polination? One tree I
could handle -- two? Probably not! How about cherries?

TammyM

(TammyM) said:

Do apricot trees require two trees for cross-polination? One tree I
could handle -- two? Probably not! How about cherries?

I guess it all depends on the variety you buy, so look for the
self-pollinating type.

http://www.beeculture.com/content/pollination_handbook/apricot.html

Now, what are "bagged flowers"?

--
See return address to reply by email

In article <[email hidden]>,

TammyM said:

Cindy Fuller said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Puester said:

The past two weeks have been gorgeous here, warm and sunny.

As a result, our two apricot trees were covered with flowers so thickly
it looked as though they had been sprayed with whipped cream or shaving
cream. There were bees everywhere.

Tuesday we had quite a bit of wind and many flower petals blew off,
looking like a snow squall. That didn't matter much since the flowers
had been pollinated.

This morning we woke up to 3 inches of snow and 28 degree temperature.

OB food: It looks as though it will be another year of buying apricots
for our jam-making. I'm wondering how it will affect the day lilies,
iris, lupines and other perennials that are ~6 inches tall already.

My sympathies.

Mine too!

Quoted message said:

Do apricot trees require two trees for cross-polination? One tree I
could handle -- two? Probably not! How about cherries?

I'm not sure about apricots, but most sweet cherries require a pollinator.
2 in 1 or 3 in 1 trees are common, as standard cherry trees get BIG.

I will note that many sour cherry trees are self-fertile and sour cherries
are hard to find in stores. (My Montmorency tree died last year and I
intend to replace it.)

I'm hoping the spring weather gods are kind, as the big cold snap would
otherwise mean an awesome year for stone fruit.

Charlotte

--

On Mon, 2 Apr 2007 00:32:36 +0000 (UTC), [email hidden]

(Charlotte L. Blackmer) said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

TammyM said:

Cindy Fuller said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,
Puester <[email hidden]> wrote:

> The past two weeks have been gorgeous here, warm and sunny.
>
> As a result, our two apricot trees were covered with flowers so thickly
> it looked as though they had been sprayed with whipped cream or shaving
> cream. There were bees everywhere.
>
> Tuesday we had quite a bit of wind and many flower petals blew off,
> looking like a snow squall. That didn't matter much since the flowers
> had been pollinated.
>
> This morning we woke up to 3 inches of snow and 28 degree temperature.
>
> OB food: It looks as though it will be another year of buying apricots
> for our jam-making. I'm wondering how it will affect the day lilies,
> iris, lupines and other perennials that are ~6 inches tall already.
>
My sympathies.

Mine too!

Quoted message said:

Do apricot trees require two trees for cross-polination? One tree I
could handle -- two? Probably not! How about cherries?

I'm not sure about apricots, but most sweet cherries require a pollinator.
2 in 1 or 3 in 1 trees are common, as standard cherry trees get BIG.

I will note that many sour cherry trees are self-fertile and sour cherries
are hard to find in stores. (My Montmorency tree died last year and I
intend to replace it.)

Oooooo, that's a great idea! I hadn't thought of sour cherries.
Mmmmmmm, sour cherry jam! I'm still liking the idea of an apricot
though. I could probably find a dwarf apricot that would do nicely.
I have a big back garden, as you know, Charlotte, but I'm not the most
..... attentive ... gardener :-)

Quoted message said:

I'm hoping the spring weather gods are kind, as the big cold snap would
otherwise mean an awesome year for stone fruit.

So far, so good! I thought that snap had taken out my Meyer lemon,
but I saw budding blossoms yesterday. The Persian lime is fine, as
are the tangerine and key lime trees. The blackberries seem
unaffected. I would also really like a California bay laurel. May
have to skippideedoodah down to Capitol Nursery this weekend.

TammyM

TammyM said:

So far, so good! I thought that snap had taken out my Meyer lemon,
but I saw budding blossoms yesterday. The Persian lime is fine, as
are the tangerine and key lime trees. The blackberries seem
unaffected. I would also really like a California bay laurel. May
have to skippideedoodah down to Capitol Nursery this weekend.

In my experience, you only regret the trees you DIDN'T plant.
Go for it!

gloria p
wishing for Tammy's climate