What's flowering as forage in your area

[Nannysbees]

It’s the first solid floor I’ve tried. There are masses of bees in there.

Oh that's interesting

 

[Stiffy]

Spring is certainly nearly here in the balmy SW, with Hawthorn starting to flower crocus, snowdrops getting towards the end and daffs gone or going over. Gorse flowers most months but looking very good at present. Bees have been really busy today with lots and lots of pollen going in, most are looking pretty strong and appear to have wintered well.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Spring is certainly nearly here in the balmy SW, with Hawthorn starting to flower crocus, snowdrops getting towards the end and daffs gone or going over. Gorse flowers most months but looking very good at present. Bees have been really busy today with lots and lots of pollen going in, most are looking pretty strong and appear to have wintered well.

Hawthorn!?
That flowers in May here.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hawthorn!?
That flowers in May here.

get the blackthorn first, and well before the hawthorn

 

[pargyle]

Hawthorn!?
That flowers in May here.

Probably mistaken for Blackthorn, there's not even buds on the hawthorn where I am - there's a few Blackthorn starting to flower though around me - lots of ornamental cherries in blossom.

A wild plum (just one tree which is by the path where we walk the dog) has started to break bud - very early ... too early in fact, if we get a frost there will be no fruit this year. It's lousy for eating but it makes a really good jam - bigger than a damson, smaller than a normal plum - they never really ripen. Tried to get some started from the stones but not been successful ... one day I might get round to trying a graft.

 

[JamezF]

A wild plum (just one tree which is by the path where we walk the dog) has started to break bud - very early ... too early in fact, if we get a frost there will be no fruit this year. It's lousy for eating but it makes a really good jam - bigger than a damson, smaller than a normal plum - they never really ripen. Tried to get some started from the stones but not been successful ... one day I might get round to trying a graft.

It may be that the stone needs to be chilled before it will germinate (there's a proper word for it, but I can't recall it right now; stratified, perhaps?), or that the outer casing needs to be broken. Somewhere I have a book called (I think) "The Pip Book" which has been out of print for decades, but explains how to get all sorts of stuff like this to grow. I'll see if I can find it and check whether it has anything to say about plums. I guess it can't be that hard to get them to grow given that blackthorn germinates relatively easily. Then again, blackthorn produces an awful lot of fruit...

James

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Hawthorn!?
That flowers in May here.

Hence the saying don't cast a clout till May is out

 

[Erichalfbee]

Probably mistaken for Blackthorn, there's not even buds on the hawthorn where I am - there's a few Blackthorn starting to flower though around me - lots of ornamental cherries in blossom.

A wild plum (just one tree which is by the path where we walk the dog) has started to break bud - very early ... too early in fact, if we get a frost there will be no fruit this year. It's lousy for eating but it makes a really good jam - bigger than a damson, smaller than a normal plum - they never really ripen. Tried to get some started from the stones but not been successful ... one day I might get round to trying a graft.

Oh do have a go with some grafts and save one for me...
I'm a real fan of grafting after our neighbour showed us how to do it.
We have some step over apples on the go.
Your raspberries are in place and I"m looking forward to some yellow fruit.

 

[Newbeeneil]

The old head master at my junior school was a keen gardener and we had lovely rose garden in the school grounds. He used to teach us how to graft the roses. Maybe we were just cheap labour but the skill has never left me

 

[JamezF]

Ok, what it says in the book for plums is that the fruit should be picked as ripe as possible so the stone comes away from the flesh relatively easily. They should then be kept somewhere cool until about Christmas, at which point they should be put in pots very lightly covered by compost and left outdoors, exposed to the elements. You can put several stones in one pot, but if so transplant them as soon as possible after germinating.

Alternatively you can try storing them somewhere cool until late winter/early spring, soak them in tepid water for 48 hours and then gently crack the hard shell of the stone before sowing them. The crack only has to be big enough to allow moisture from the compost to get inside.

It may be worth cracking some of the stones in the first method too.

I've only ever tried growing trees from "seed" with conkers quite some years back. I picked ones off the ground where the case had split and put them in a plastic bag in a fridge with some moist compost for a couple of months before sowing them. Quite a number germinated and I have one growing in the garden still.

James

 

[pargyle]

Ok, what it says in the book for plums is that the fruit should be picked as ripe as possible so the stone comes away from the flesh relatively easily. They should then be kept somewhere cool until about Christmas, at which point they should be put in pots very lightly covered by compost and left outdoors, exposed to the elements. You can put several stones in one pot, but if so transplant them as soon as possible after germinating.

Alternatively you can try storing them somewhere cool until late winter/early spring, soak them in tepid water for 48 hours and then gently crack the hard shell of the stone before sowing them. The crack only has to be big enough to allow moisture from the compost to get inside.

It may be worth cracking some of the stones in the first method too.

I've only ever tried growing trees from "seed" with conkers quite some years back. I picked ones off the ground where the case had split and put them in a plastic bag in a fridge with some moist compost for a couple of months before sowing them. Quite a number germinated and I have one growing in the garden still.

James

I'll try that when it fruits this coming year ... in the meantime I've ordered a few rootstocks (St Julied A) and I'm going to try grafting a a few.

What I would really like is a Damson tree but down here they are a pretty rare sight and the nurseries want £33 for a maiden ... anyone out there wih a Damson tree they can take a cutting from ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'll try that when it fruits this coming year ... in the meantime I've ordered a few rootstocks (St Julied A) and I'm going to try grafting a a few.

What I would really like is a Damson tree but down here they are a pretty rare sight and the nurseries want £33 for a maiden ... anyone out there wih a Damson tree they can take a cutting from ?

might have

 

[JamezF]

Oddly enough I have a damson (Merryweather, as far as I recall). Not sure if it's grown enough to take cuttings from at the moment or not. What sort of diameter does the scion need to be?

James

 

[Nannysbees]

I'll try that when it fruits this coming year ... in the meantime I've ordered a few rootstocks (St Julied A) and I'm going to try grafting a a few.

What I would really like is a Damson tree but down here they are a pretty rare sight and the nurseries want £33 for a maiden ... anyone out there wih a Damson tree they can take a cutting from ?

My friend has one and it it absolutely ladened with fruit every year, I've bought a plum tree this year and it's just starting to bud

 

[pargyle]

Oddly enough I have a damson (Merryweather, as far as I recall). Not sure if it's grown enough to take cuttings from at the moment or not. What sort of diameter does the scion need to be?

James

6 to 8mm is a good size ... matches the rootstock size ... bit smaller is possible.

 

[pargyle]

My friend has one and it it absolutely ladened with fruit every year, I've bought a plum tree this year and it's just starting to bud

I think Damson jam is about the very best of all jams ...

 

[JamezF]

6 to 8mm is a good size ... matches the rootstock size ... bit smaller is possible.

I'll try to remember to have a look at it tomorrow. Most important thing to do tomorrow though is to sort everything out so I can move some hives during the week when the bees shouldn't be interested in flying because it's supposed to be tipping down.

James

 

[pargyle]

I'll try to remember to have a look at it tomorrow. Most important thing to do tomorrow though is to sort everything out so I can move some hives during the week when the bees shouldn't be interested in flying because it's supposed to be tipping down.

James

Not a good idea to take scions from a young tree ... I would only take one if the tree needed pruning in order to shape or promote growth of more branches.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think Damson jam is about the very best of all jams ...

my aunty Eirwen used to make the finest damson jam ever, and Damson tart. There was a farm we had permission to forage on near the old tower where my GGG grandparents farmed and there was a massive damson tree in the orchard of the now derelict farmhouse, we used to pick basketfuls from it every year.
I had a load off our tree last year (a damson tree doesn't really give much fruit until it is at least five or six years old) I picked a basketful with the intention of making some jam, once I'd finished being busy with some urgent beekeeping stuff, but I turned around and SWMBO has scoffed the lot!

Not a good idea to take scions from a young tree ... I would only take one if the tree needed pruning in order to shape or promote growth of more branches.

I can spare a few scions for you, I was looking at the tree this morning and losing a branch or two won't harm it.

 

[pargyle]

my aunty Eirwen used to make the finest damson jam ever, and Damson tart. There was a farm we had permission to forage on near the old tower where my GGG grandparents farmed and there was a massive damson tree in the orchard of the now derelict farmhouse, we used to pick basketfuls from it every year.
I had a load off our tree last year (a damson tree doesn't really give much fruit until it is at least five or six years old) I picked a basketful with the intention of making some jam, once I'd finished being busy with some urgent beekeeping stuff, but I turned around and SWMBO has scoffed the lot!

I can spare a few scions for you, I was looking at the tree this morning and losing a branch or two won't harm it.

Brilliant ...