What did you do in your orchard today?

[R2elk]

Those are awesome pictures and the best flowers, because they turn into fruit for eating

Jesus is Lord and Christ

Not likely here. Too early. 22°F this morning.

 

[CrealCritter]

I find this interesting and thought I would share my learning experience.

Peach post bloom and prior to shuck split. The tip of the flower center called the stigma, turns brown, that's completely normal.

The stigma will swell and eventually pull or split the shuck (flower) away from its orginal base. This is known as shuck split. The stigma is now a little peach fruitlet.

If the peach fruitlet continues to get plump, green and fuzzy, the peach is good. The shuck will eventually dry up and fall to the ground.

Pictures are from one of our rich may peach trees. Rich May is a early ripening variety.

P.S. Maybe I'm just easily amused....But I find all this interesting.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

Just finished spraying our monster southern bartlet pear tree. I strapped 5 gallons of juice on my back and sprayed it with the 14 foot extension wand the very best I could. Hopefully it'll help with it's rust issue. All I know... Is no one should plant a pear tree on standard roots and not trim it ever. That tree is crazy tall and big. I keep saying I'm going to take a chainsaw to it and bring it down to about 12 foot tall but it hasn't happened yet. It's a stately old thing and I kind like it stately. But then again it's way to tall and completely un-manageable as is. If it didn't have a rust issue, I would definitely leave it as is. But in order to battle the rust, I need to cut it way back so it grows new wood and I can spray it properly.

I've learned the winds tend to die down right before dusk, unless there is a storm rolling in. So right before dusk is a great time to spray.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

More grafted pears broke bud today. I set them outside to get the sun they need to grow. I grafted them onto OHxF333 pear rootstock which is a semi dwarf root stock and will grow to be 12 to 16 foot tall, when fully mature. That's a good height to harvest a pear tree from the ground with a telescoping picking pole.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[CrealCritter]

The remaining pear grafts broke bud today, so I set them outside to get the sun they need to grow. I will babysit them and hopefully get them off to a good start. I'm beginning to understand why a nursery, is called a nursery.

My bench grafts are pretty much done for the year, unless I have some non-takers to re-graft. It's time to do some top work grafting now. I'm going to add some more varieties to the multi grafted apple tree by the house for sure. And continue to plant trees in the orchard.

I was looking at our peach trees in the orchard, they are covered up with little peach fruitlets. There are so many on every tree, except for Marge which I planted last year. I'm going to have to thin them out. It's funny how that works... cicadas basicly robbed us a decent decent peach harvest last year. This year is shaping up to be a great peach year. Even the rich may peach trees flowered and set fruit the first time this year

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[The Porch]

Walked with my coffee yesterday morning and checked out the Asian pear blooms and compared them to the small unknown tree next to it, I think they are the same.



the old large pear the small sucker shoot





and I am so glad this very dark purple lilac is about to bloom

 

[CrealCritter]

Walked with my coffee yesterday morning and checked out the Asian pear blooms and compared them to the small unknown tree next to it, I think they are the same.



the old large pear the small sucker shoot
View attachment 29762 View attachment 29761




and I am so glad this very dark purple lilac is about to bloom
View attachment 29760

Since you said there are no other oriental pears close by. I suspect the rootstock sucker is what cross pollinates the big pear tree. The rootstock being a differnt oriental pear variety. Although I don't know much about oriental pears. I have yet to study them. Maybe next year I'll graft some, to grow out in the orchard.

Jesus is Lord and Christ