Blossom Dates - A Catalogue

[FB.]

Doyenne d'Ete on Pyrodwarf with 10% blossom open on 24th April; full flower will be any day now.
Conference on Quince A with 10% blossom open on 26th April.
Doyenne d'Ete on seedling with 10% open on 26th April.

Williams on Quince A should be at 10% within a day or two; Concorde on Quince A probably a few days after that.

Of the apples, Pinova on M26 looks closest to the 10% open stage at the moment; the first few flowers are opening, but this variety (for me at least) seems to have a long slow flowering period; a few flowers open at a time - rarely reaching a state of "full blossom" because the first flowers have usually lost their petals of even become fruitlets by the time the last flowers start to open.

Conference on QA and Doyenne d'Ete on Pyrodwarf have been in full flower for about four days (didn't note the exact day). Concorde on QA reached full flower yesterday. Williams on QA is having an "off" year, so only a few blossoms which were fully open a few days ago.
Scrumptious on MM106 reached 10% open yesterday. Pinova on M26, Blenheim Orange on M26* and Tydeman's Late Orange on MM106 and MM111 are 10% today.

Alfriston on M116 and Red Devil on MM106 will probably reach 10% over the weekend.

* The Blenheim Orange on M9 is several days behind the Blenheim on M26.

Beauty of Bath on M9 is having an "off" year - no blossom buds.

Court Pendu Plat on M25 is still completely dormant, as is Crawley Beauty on MM106. Edward VII on both M25 and MM106 is only just showing signs of life.

The normally-early-flowering Egremont Russet and Discovery on MM106 and Belle de Boskoop on MM111 are surprisingly slow this year; barely even showing pink buds yet (Boskoop is not even showing pink); look like they'll flower with the mid-late varieties such as Ashmead's, Howgate, Spartan and Fiesta.
Most of my MM111's and M25's are also rather slow out of dormancy this year, apart from Jupiter/M25 which was very early out of dormancy and is already growing strongly.

[Garden_Chris]

Original thread updated, included Blueberry, Peach, Apple and Pear updates.

I'm keeping an eye on my Pitmaston's Pineapple - there's zero signs of life thus far. Did the scratch test, there's little surface level 'green', but a few more millimetres down there's certainly signs of life. It's on M26.

[veggiechicken]

Pears in Carmarthenshire. I don't know the rootstock or opening dates as I haven't been here for 2 weeks.
Conference

Family tree - from right to left - Conference, Williams and Doyenne du Comice

The Comice is later than the other 2

The pear trees in Cardiff are not flowering fully yet.
There are no flowers on any of the apple trees in Cardiff or Carmarthenshire yet.
One Stella cherry in Cardiff has been in full flower for a month, another cherry (unknown but from LIDL) flowered 1st May.

[SarzWix]

Nothing on any of my apple trees yet, but finally spotted a tiny amount of blossom on my blackthorn hedge yesterday. Out of half a dozen 6 year old plants, only 2 have blossom though. Not going to be a good year for sloes.

[rustylady]

My Victoria plum is about in full blossom.

No flower buds visible yet on the apple (variety unknown but produces huge cooking apples)

[FB.]

Scrumptious MM106 now in full flower. Pinova M26, Blenheim Orange M26 and Tydeman's Late Orange MM106 virtually full flower - probably will be full flower tomorrow.

[yummersetter]

Gosh, way ahead! The Golden Russet I photographed is just coming into flower, about 10% on one of the four trees, The only one flowering yet out of the forty trees in the old orchard. The first few blossoms are bursting on the Ribston Pippins and Orleans Reinettes on MM106 in the new orchard but none of the other apples there look close to flowering, including the Scrumptious which is ten days or so off first opening . Plums are coming out now, and a Concord Pear on a wall.

The weather's been lovely but the trees are mainly producing leaves, though there are masses of blossom buds - I reckon another week yet for most, which will make it one of the latest years since I started recording first blossom dates in 1993. The grass and weeds are shooting up like mad, I reckon any uncut grass is growing an inch a day.

[orangepippin]

Here is the blossom list on our website:

Fruit tree blossom records

Here is the annual record of one of my own trees:
Details of a Opal fruit tree growing in YORK United Kingdom

It would be good to get some more UK records, if anyone here wants to add their trees but can't be bothered to load them on the website you are welcome to PM or email me and I will add them for you!

[Garden_Chris]

I'll update the thread over the course of the next few days when I get some spare time. Right now, I'm inundated with work sadly

[yummersetter]

Just to prove me wrong, five trees have started flowering today in the old orchard. The Orleans Reinette fans on wires in the new orchard are flowering, the half standards are a week off and the 20 year old standard tree in the old orchard is just tentatively opening a leaf or two. Masses of leaf growth just in a day or two - its gone green since May 1st.

[littleexperience]

first plum of the season is just started to flower a Marjorie's Seedling on St Julien rootstock south facing.on the other hand my opal also on St Julien looks quite strange 2 flowers at the very top of tree and new buds but the rest of the tree looks completely dormant with no signs of life anybody have any idears why its looks like this

[StephenH]

Good idea. As it happens, I've decided to record the first flower and full flower of my own apple trees, and will now record end of flowering as well. No full flower yet, but first flower dates so far:
6/5 - Brownlees' Russet
7/5 - Bramley's Seedling, James Grieve*, Egremont Russet
Still to flower as of 8/5 - Flower of Kent/Isaac Newton's Tree, Cottenham Seedling. (These two are naturally later flowerers, according to the books.)

*Probably, but it's an old tree which was already in the garden when I moved in, and I've never had it formally identified.

N.B. - if it makes a difference, the putative James Grieve is an old, full-size standard, the Bramley is on MM106, and the others are on M26.

[yummersetter]

If it helps, here's my younger James Grieve MM106 tree in blossom

[StephenH]

Thanks - well, the blossom is certainly similar. Is yours coming up to maximum blossom now?

[yummersetter]

Nearly there. Here's the fifty year old and six year old trees