Today in the orchard
The first wave of bloom—most of the apples we grow—is nearly over, and most are ready (fingers crossed) to set fruit. However, there are lingering flowers here and there, a few trees are still in full bloom, while others are just leafing out. It has been interesting to track the 400+ cultivars and seedling selections we’re growing as they break dormancy. We currently have fifty-five English and French cider apples. Most of them are at petal fall or towards the end of their bloom. Fourteen of them, however, are just beginning to leaf out. That’s 25%. The late bloomers are of concern because their bloom coincides with warmer temperatures which puts them at increased risk of fire blight infection. On the other hand late bloomers are less likely to be hit by frost while in bloom. It’s a trade-off, and sometimes it feels as though it’s a case of damned if you do and damned if you don’t. We are carefully watching the “late-leafers” this spring as they begin to bloom…just in time for the fire blight warnings on the horizon.
Black Oxford in bloom, May 28, 2025
There’s another group of apples that have long bloom periods. These include two of our favorites: Black Oxford and Frostbite (MN 447). They both seem to bloom forever. Both produced nearly full crops following the terrible May 18, 2023 deep freeze. Two other more recent favorites—the Steve Gougeon selection he calls Dandeneau and the English bittersharp, Skyrmes Kernel—also have long bloom periods. You might think that makes them susceptible to both the freeze and fire blight, but all four seem to finessed the challenges and produced good crops the last few years.
