In The Leafy Treetops

  The skies parted for a time this afternoon for a little garden inspection.  After checking the progress in the vegetable beds (nothing to note), I checked  on  the trees to see how they came through the wind and rain storms we’ve had recently.

Granny Smith Apple

Apple buds are plentiful on old Granny.  This year is the best ever; but she’s not out of the woods yet.  There’s more wind to come that will, more than likely, thin out the bounty.  Note the dark sky making a great backdrop for the sun beaming on the buds.

 

O’Henry Peach

In various stages of blooming, the peach tree looks like it may produce fairly well this season.  I’ll be concentrating on creating a thicker canopy to protect the trunk and limbs from the scorching sun.

 

Santa Rosa Plum

A canopy like the Santa Rosa Plum produced would certainly help prevent sun scald on some of the other trees.  The plum made it through the storms in good shape.  Sadly, there were no plums that survived.  Wait a minute.  What? 

 

Santa Rosa Plum

There’s a bajillion more clusterslike this under that canopy.  Many of the tiny plums are sure to drop.  I hope I can at least taste one this summer…at most, jar up some plum jelly.

 

 Warren Pear

A small amount of damage caused by the wind was noted on the Warren Pear.  It didn’t bloom this spring so no blooms to worry about.  It’s getting a nice start on producing a thicker canopy.

 

 Fantasia Nectarine

This tree is the #1 candidate for sun protection.  The nectarine really needs a canopy.  In the meantime, a temporary screen will be erected.  I sure hope more leaves will sprout.  The blooms are similar to the peach tree…if they would only produce a piece of fruit.

 

Blenheim Apricot

Baby apricots made it through the storms!  No fruit has made it to maturity on the apricot tree.  It looks promising for this summer though.  The plum tree bloomed before the apricot; but the apricots are much bigger than the plums.

All the fruit trees were fertilized on February 20.  They will be fed again during the 1st weekend of April.  A six week fertilizer plan should do for now with adjustments when the weather changes and the growth slows.  Just want to track this and see any progress.

 

By clicking on any image a new window should open with a much bigger version.  That is IF I remembered to make that feature available.