Older Apple trees, not unlike humans in their dotage, seem to tire more with time and are not quite up to producing all the plump blooms . . . that with the prodigious participation of pollinators . . . will bear fruit every year or in some cases every other year.
There is a sizable silence of florescence in five of my six senior Apples this spring.
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| Apple on the Edge of North Garden and Field April 2012 |
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| Apple on the Edge of North Garden and Field April 2012 |
Pruning is a rather large scale activity here at Flower Hill Farm. I depend on Nate, who I have coached over the years to 'see' ( number one lesson in pruning,) to carry the ladder and lift the pruning pole, saws and loppers. Then the sucker shoots, sprouting continuously, demand sharp clippers and precision cuts all up and down branches and trunks.
Apple trees take on graceful and sculptural forms as they mature. I did not plant the various Malus here but they have become my own through over thirty years of caring for them.
Though the light is not the best to show it . . . there are plenty of blooms but not as large and abundant as in years past ~ see below. We still need to prune the tips of the branches quite a bit.
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| Apple on the Edge of North Garden and Field 2011 |
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| Northern Parula from 2011 Opening Apple blossoms in tree above |
I have many avid helpers in keeping the Apples organic and mostly 'pest-free'.
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| Middle Garden Meadow Malus April 2012 |
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| Middle Garden Meadow Apple ~ April 29, 2011 |
The Apples bloomed in April this year, where they usually unfurl in May. This larger spread of tree is always the last to bloom of all of the Apples. Twenty-twelve reveals but a few blossoms. The branches will not be heavily laden down with fruit this fall. I am not sure of the age but guess this to be around 50 to 100 years old.
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| Apple Gateway April 2012 |
Our Apple Gateway is in need of major pruning and not in the 'porcupine way' but when the trees are dormant. We have very few blossoms on the pair this year.
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| Apple Gateway Leading down into Blueberry field April 2012 |
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| Apple Gateway May 2011 ~ What a Difference in Timing and Profusion of Flowers |
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| Apple Gateway April 2012 |
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| Apple Gateway May 2011 |
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| Ruby-throated Hummingbird in Apple Gateway May 2011 |
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| Porcupine in Apple Gateway truly taxing the tree ~ Note the bare and dying branches in third photo above this image. |
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| Marvelous creature . . . but do you have to eat my apple tree? I am happy to share the apples! |
Porcupines provide pruning too but they stress the trees by gnawing on them while they are actively in growth. Still, it is hard to be too angry at the prickly porcus spina.
I have to be creative in dissuading them.
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| Bonsai Rock Garden and Lower Garden Apple April 2012 ~ Abundance of blooms on north side |
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| Bathed in fresh morning light April 2012 . . . I am standing slightly further back for this photograph |
This Apple appears to be growing out of a large outcropping of rock.
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| Bonsai Rock Garden and Lower Garden Apple April 2012 Absence of florescence on South side. |
It is rather odd that this Apple is only blooming on one side this year. Rather a split personality.
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| Nate Pruning and Casting Bonsai Apple Branches March 2011 ~ Thinning the Crown |
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| North Side of Bonsai Apple Blossoms 2012 Reaching Down Towards Apple Gateway |
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| Within the Bonsai Apple 2012 . . . I vividly recall the days when I could climb up into this crusty form to prune |
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| Ruby-crowned Kinglet Showing a Spot of its Ruby Crown . . . Soaking Up the Warmth of the Sun |
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| South Field Apple 2012 Copiously Covered in Fragrant Blooms Promising Prolific Yields in Fruit |
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| Female Bluebird Before a Cloud of Apple Blooms 2012 |
The South Field Apple tree is also in need of some thinning and heavy pruning, but it seems not to be bothered by the over crowed branches in its crown and will give us a great crop of apples in the autumn. When near this tree the pollinators purring is plentiful.
In good years, these six Apple trees yield bumper harvests for humans and wildlife alike. This year there will be less to go around. There is usually a cyclical cycle of production, but I have never seen such light productivity. Still the trees are fabulous focal points in the gardens and with any garden . . . there is always next year.
Yesterday I noted many returning songbirds - Baltimore Oriole, Indigo Bunting, Redstart, Catbird, Hermit Thrush and the Ruby-throated hummingbird. There were also many Red-Admiral butterflies and the earliest that I can remember sighting of our first Monarch Butterfly. Everything is lush from the rain and warm days . . . everyday opens with new surprises . . . joys to unfold.
I so wish it could be the reality for all the world over.
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12 comments:
Fantastic photos and post . The early spring we had in March and the weird weather that followed has destroyed lots of apple orchards here its a shame this has happened lots of apple crops gone . All our spring/summer birds , butterflys and bugs are all back now and the weather is what it should be now ! Have a good day !
Hello Dear Carol, i am amazed at the age of your oldest apple tree. I bet with the breadth of canopy and length of its roots, it is also suffering some nutrient deficiency and stress. I love most that bonsai tree, but whatever they are apple blossoms are always lovely, but of course we dont have apples here.
Many of our tropical trees also exhibit biennial fruiting, that is because they are not provided with sufficient needs unlike in real pampered farms. Happy Weekend again...Andrea too! I have a new blog.
Oh my Carol... so beautiful. I understand how much work maintaining an apple tree can be but the results are incredible.... your blog posts alway raises the BP a notch or two!! Larry
Lovely trees, apple trees in bloom are something to behold. Great pictures, I was especially intrigued with the shot of the porcupine in a tree!
I do love apple trees. Ours is still quite young - perhaps 5-7 years - but I look forward to having a tree as beautiful as yours!
Great pictures
other than pruning them in the dormant season, your trees look like they are pruned to enable easy reach into the canopy, the leaves in the picture look normal and healthy, but the one picture you have is the tree with the dead limb in the centre of the canopy, that looks like water shortage to me. Maybe that is part of the reason why there are not so many blooms this year.
you could also let some of the interior shoots that you prune off establish and start to remove poorer sections of the tree as the shoot establishes.
thought you were in England too until i saw the humming bird. Must be a warm climate:-)
cheers
Hello Carol:
We can well imagine the work involved in keeping all your fruit trees healthy and in good shape. And, from your wonderful photographs, the trees look to be in exceptionally good heart. The blossom is terrific and we are sure that the sight of your orchards at the moment must be simply fabulous!
And, how exciting to have seen your first Monarch!There are so many wild visitors to your garden by land and air that it must be a full time job keeping track of them all. But, how lovely it is that, in the main, they all work and live together in relative harmony on the land that sustains them all....and their human guardians!
Hoping that you are enjoying a wonderful week. The weather here is simply perfect too.
Beautiful! I just attended a pruning workshop put on by our village. I found the workshop very helpful as I have a lot of young trees that I want to make sure grow up healthy. I would think pruning an apple tree is an art in itself. I love the sculptural qualities of your trees. And I love the way they age. I am enjoying my neighbor's apple tree right now and caught sight of a Baltimore Oriole also enjoying it. I am also enjoying my crabapples which are loaded with blooms and which you convinced me to add to my garden - thank you. We have had so many Red Admirals flying around here. I can't ever remember such numbers. This is the earliest I have recorded the return of the hummingbirds, too, but maybe I just have more to offer now as my garden grows. Always love stopping here.
Great to read your list of birds returning. We haven't seen any hummingbirds so far which is late for our garden.
I kept thinking as I looked at the apple trees, it must smell wonderful there.
Nate puts the size of the tree into perspective.
I love an old apple tree. Yours are gorgeous. A pair of symbolic apple trees feature in the novel I’m writing. I had a disappointing hotel stay in Williams, MA while visiting the college. We booked at The Orchard Hotel online and discovered later that it was situated on tarmac, perhaps a paved over orchard?
Terrific porcupine shot! The quills seem to pop out of the screen. I occasionally see them on hikes, but always asleep in a tree.
I am really struck by the beauty of your woods and the variety of birds and wildlife, of course, the photography. I'd call it a bit of paradise. I love the old apple tree. Reminds of the old trees on my dad's farm when I was a kid. Of all the tree blossoms, apple blossoms are the prettiest.
Kära Carol!
Gorgeous tour in your fruit garden!Some of the pictures are like impressionistic paintings!
Kram, Anja
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