The 'Beauty' was very lovely, if short-lived. Is there anything more evocative of the fleeting joy of Spring than plum blossom?
The 'Beast' is the tree bearing this blossom. I had such good intentions when I planted a dwarf rootstock plum several years ago, but the whole pruning and training regime has been too much for the limited time I have to spend on it. On the positive side I do manage to prune in summer, which I gather avoids the tree bleeding to death. The training regime however has been feeble. What we should have done was to fix wires into the wall before planting the tree. The mish-mash of bamboo canes which we used instead was no match for the will power of this dwarf.
Now it goes its own sweet way. I'm waiting to see where it goes next. This year's blossom has been the most profuse yet, which is encouraging. A few more plums would be welcome - last year a total of 2 made it through to ripening, and the wasps got those before we did.
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8 comments:
Our plum blossom was scarce this year after a really plum laden year last - this seems to happen regularly. It goes all out one year and then has a rest!
I think that the summer (whilst the sap is rising) pruning is supposed to help prevent the tree getting a silver leaf infection. The same is true for cherries, peaches, apricots etc
I've just bought an apple on dwarf rootstock and I already have a cherry. I'm keeping both in containers, mainly because there's no spare ground to plant them, but it will also keep them in check. I quite fancy a plum tree, that might be next on my list. Hope you get a harvest this year, the blossom's gorgeous.
I lovely plum tree! Its shape looks good to me, much better than I could do. I can barely grow apples so I'll not try plums! :)
Hi Linda, your photo of the close up blooms with the purple blooming flowers in the backdrop was stunning! I've planted two dwarf trees this year and am anxious to see how they will fair. I hope you get more than 2 plums this year! Cheers, Jenni
Thanks for visiting my blog. Getting to meet gardeners from all over the world is a joy. I'm always running out of time in the garden, although of course no amount of time would be enough.
I find fruit trees a bit hit and miss,one year you get lots of fruit,the next hardly any, the next the birds get them..........but when you do get a good crop its well worth it. hoping this years flowers produce more than 2 plums for you.X
wishing you success with this years fruit !!
Our plum tree seems to have a great crop every second year. I think it needs the other year to recover. it still seems to put on a lot of new branches...
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