Apple tree on the allotment in flower

[wbmkk]

I just noticed this morning on a neighbour's plot an apple tree in blossom.

Isn't this a bit too early ?

(Don't know why I am asking this question really, Nature is in charge, not the tree owner)

According to the name tag on the tree, it's a Braeburn

[rustylady]

Seems very early to me. By coincidence someone has just posted on Faceache that his neighbour's Braeburn apple tree has started flowering too. That plot is in Southampton so a lot further south than you.

[FB.]

It is much too early, but it's probably because the winter has been quite mild.
If it is a newly-planted tree it may have been sat in a warm car/van/lorry/warehouse/shop which made it think spring had arrived.

Each variety is different in how soon it comes out of dormancy (or how soon it goes into dormancy). Some varieties are known as "low-chill-requirement" and are ideal for areas with non-freezing winters or where the climate tends to jump from winter to summer without the slow pickup of temperatures in the spring.

At the other end of the scale, my Edward VII apple tree still refuses to go completely dormant, with about a quarter of its leaves yet to fall off (although they are now yellowing and should fall off within the next couple of weeks).
There's not much you can do about it. If you pull off the flowers you won't get any fruit this year, but if you leave the flowers they'll probably be killed by frost and there probably aren't many bees around to pollinate the flowers - not to mention another apple tree to act as a pollinator (Braeburn is apparently part-self-fertile but it still needs bees).
After the blossoms will come the leaves. If you pull the leaves off the tree will lose many of the reserves that it had stored over winter to kickstart growth this year. But if you leave the new shoots they may get frosted and killed - or broken off under the weight of snow if winter has a last laugh in April as it did last year.

[AllInContainers]

The weather has been very confusing for plants - my globe artichoke has three buds ...

[FB.]

The weather has been very confusing for plants - my globe artichoke has three buds ...

My rhubarb (Timperley Early and Victoria) are well underway now; plenty of shoots an inch or two long have come up since the new year. A few more weeks and I'll be able to harvest the first rhubarb of the year.
But I reckon winter might give us a late arctic blast that'll knock the stuffing out of my rhubarb and cause all kinds of other mischief.

The weathermen on TV are crowing about how mild and snow-less the weather has been. Pride comes before a fall. Be careful what you wish for.

[AllInContainers]

Agreed! I'm just hoping all my trees stay dormant untill the right time - I've chucked too much money out lately on them to get caught out and damaged by springing into action too early ...

[FB.]

Agreed! I'm just hoping all my trees stay dormant untill the right time - I've chucked too much money out lately on them to get caught out and damaged by springing into action too early ...

Keepers website search engine could be used to shortlist the later-flowering varieties in flowering groups E, F, G and H.
http://www.keepers-nursery.co.uk/search2.aspx

I have Court Pendu Plat and Edward VII. I also had Crawley Beauty but I think I killed it in some experiments last year.

As I have a number of fruit trees, I made sure that they are as diverse as possible, in addition to tolerating or resisting the main problems in my area. So my trees include varieties chosen for:
Varied flowering times.
Varied fruit-ripening times.
Some varieties known to be very hardy.
Some known (or proven by me) to do well in cold, wet, sunless summers.
Some varieties which ripen fruit extremely late in the season.
Good pollinators of other varieties - even in cold springs when pollen from some varieties can't germinate properly.

You never know what mother nature is going to do next, so why not cover a wide range of options?

[AllInContainers]

That looks like an excellent tool FB, unfortunately I don't have the option to cover the spectrum due to space restrictions - or certainly not add anything new unless something dies.

I've gone the different fruits route for diversity instead. One apple, one cherry, fig, medlar, persimmon, etc etc. One elder, blackcurrant, blueberry, jostaberry etc etc. All self fertile of course Rather than trying to ensure I have some apples (or other specific fruit), I'm trying to ensure I have some tree fruit and some berries If it's not a good cherry season, then maybe I might have a decent crop of something else entirely instead. The only fruit I have diversed on varieties on is strawberries (blue, black, white alpine and giant red), as I have two large planters which give me scope for 60+ plants grown on a very small footprint

[FB.]

I just noticed this morning on a neighbour's plot an apple tree in blossom.

Isn't this a bit too early ?

(Don't know why I am asking this question really, Nature is in charge, not the tree owner)

According to the name tag on the tree, it's a Braeburn

Another thought: how can you be sure it's an apple tree?
A lot of people find that their fruit tree isn't what it said on the label - bargain basement, end of season and clearance trees are especially known for a fairly high proportion not being correctly labelled.

I saw a batch of cheap trees in a DIY store in spring 2013 and they all had the same label in the same box yet some were clearly double-grafted (interstock) while others were grafted in the normal way.

The members on here also have various stories of how their supposed apple tree produced plums.....or cherries.

Even respectable nurseries make the occasional labelling mistake. Some nurseries seem to think it's OK to send out something similar if they don't have exactly what you asked for but not tell you.

[Snadger]

I have a Braeburn apple on my plot which isn't many a mile away from Whitley Bay and there's no sign of life on mine.
I still have calendulas flowering in the greenhouse though!

[binley100]

Ihave calendulas flowering outside and one of my rosemary bushes has started to flower....tis mad

[Aberdeenplotter]

I have a Bramley on my plot which may as well be a million miles from Whitley bay . It has big fat buds but that is it.

[FB.]

The progress of winter to spring is about normal in this area.
Snowdrops flowering and a few other bulbs are growing well (Crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, bluebell).

But no sign of any of my fruit trees wanting to break dormancy. All buds tightly closed at the moment - even on my Opal plum (trial tree on Brompton rootstock because the usual St.Julien A rootstock isn't vigorous enough to survive in my soil).

[out in the cold]

We kind of forgot about some celeriac that was so small we never really noticed it.

All of a sudden, it has shot up and is going great guns...

Our garlic is also about a good 8 or 9 inches tall.

[yummersetter]

I've planted about 300 daffodils in the orchard over the past couple of years. No sign of a leaf anywhere, I wonder if the underground critters follow me round as I'm planting them, saying 'thanks for the winter food supply'.