Look at the apples forming on my little tree. I've got various fruiting shrubs in my front yard, so take a little walk with me, and I'll show you around.

Apple Trees

In only a month, we went from flowers to this.

The apple fruit is about the size of table grapes. It could be anyone's guess when the fruit will be ready to harvest. I'm guessing early September.

The date of these photos are from May 20, 2022.

Similar to new woody branches, the flesh of the fruit starts off with small fuzzy hairs, similar to peaches.

Perhaps the hairs are a natural adaptation that deters slugs and other soft belly insects that dislike being poked by scratchy surfaces.

Hairs also likely shield the fleshy skin so it doesn't become brittle from sun scald. It needs to stay flexible so it can continue to stretch into greater volume.

Don't Always Trust the Experts

Not everything I have read or heard about growing apples has been true in the case of the trees I am growing...

Every orchard expert I have watched explain how apples grow, has said that the fruit mostly forms on spurs (dwarfed branches along the main lateral branches).

For my tree, fruiting in its first year, all the fruit is forming at the ends of the strongest branches, and any spurs I have found are not very productive yet. Are the experts wrong? My tree is not following the rules at all. Rebel Orchard sure sounds like a catchy cider brand people would love to try.

Other advice I have ignored from the experts is to spray the flowers with clay or copper, to deter diseases and coddling moth. My trees seem to be healthy and somewhat disease resistant already. Since I am not growing apple trees in a huge mono colony orchard, where the owners don't have the time to check up daily on every tree, I doubt I'll need to concern myself too much with a commercial spray treatment.

And of course, I'm definitely ignoring the experts who say to pluck off all the fruit the first year.

I waited an extra year already from when the first fruits were due, and after the pandemic I think I deserve a reward for my labors. So far, I think I have 6 to 7 fruits forming. One of them had the skin pierced, and the ants were crawling inside, so I plucked it off to save the tree some energy.

New buds are forming leafing branches, plenty to re-energize the tree for next year's fruit.

A Split Decision

Notice the green grafting tape? The bark here split open like a balloon, exposing the heartwood. The greenwood layer was stretching too rapidly (wind, sun, rain, all three?). Not sure what to do, so I wrapped some damp sphagnum moss around the wounds, and covered tightly with grafting tape.

A third split happened on the same branch a week later! I wrapped it up too. On the other two wounds I unwrapped the tape to let some fresh air back in.

Amazingly the moss stayed stuck in place to the branches, as if glued. I think that is a good sign the moss is protecting the bark from sun scald, while also soaking up some extra moisture on rainy days. The leaves of the affected branches all look healthy. As long as the bark has enough connective tissue living, the branch should remain healthy.

Perhaps the branch has started rooting into the moss, a successful air layering, and I can consider making a cutting and growing the branch as a new tree. That would be a very rare, lucky occurrence caused by accident.

Above is my other apple tree. No flowers on it this year, so no fruit. A year younger, so I am expecting it to follow the same schedule as the first tree and form flowers and fruit next year.

Black Currant

As much as I wish the fragrant, sweet flowers would stay on the black currant shrub, I'll trade the flowers any day for a taste of the sweet berries.

This thornless variety is a true joy. The nearby gooseberry shrub I grow never pollinates any fruit, but the black currant self-pollinates a plentiful harvest.

This shrub will likely have the same amount of berries as last year. More shoots are starting to form. The new canelike branches will form fruit in next year. I don't really know if I need to prune off old branches to help it form more fruit next year.

My goal has been to train the branches and trunk to fatten up, like my bonsai trees, so it can toughen up against the wind and ice, and form a dense canopy to shade the roots.

There were a few clusters of dried-up flowers and berries I found recently. Either they did not pollinate well, or they became diseased, and the shrub decided to expel the affected areas. Always pick off any dry, dead branches, leaves, and fruit to reactivate nearby healthy growth nodes. Keeping the tree clean of decaying debris also wards off future diseases and pests.

This month we have had garden problems due to the hot sun, cold nights, and pouring rains; unusual snap weather and temperature changes for May. In June I will be happy to have milder weather and gentle breezes to keep temperatures cool on sunny days.

Blueberry

Not much happening on the blueberry shrub. Should it be flowering? I thought this was supposed to be a fast grower.

One flower and berry formed on it last year, and a bird gobbled it up when it was still green.

Over winter, the new branches it formed became brittle and broke off, leaving only two weak stems behind. In Spring, a new underground branch started forming from the base.

The biggest change this year is there is no longer a canopy of tall trees growing overhead. They were all chopped down in the front yard, because my other family members got tired of dealing with raking up leaves. The lack of ancient trees competing for root space below the soil might allow the blueberry to regain the growth stamina it lost last year.

I planted the blueberry in this location under the tall trees because it was supposed to do well in the shade, so I am unsure how it will fair in the scalding July sun.

Conclusion

Did you enjoy my photos and blog?

It really brings me heaps of joy to cultivate fruits I can enjoy and share with others. Even if the fruit is growing and not ready to be eaten, the burst of color and expanding shapes is enough to brighten many people's days.

The vision of beholding something developing that can potentially satisfy, it always brings promise for hope and a better tomorrow.

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