Orchard updates May 2025
Pawpaws flowering, a few trees have lapsed into biennial bearing, a few new trees producing fruit, and new plantings for 2025.
Pawpaws flowering!
Pawpaws are flowering for the first time this year! These are seedlings that I purchased several years ago. Hopefully they set fruit. One of the trees has about 50 flowers, and the other has 4. We will see if the pollinating flies do their job this year.
Biennial producers
A couple of my trees have decided to lapse into biennial bearing. They produced quite heavily last year, although they are producing this year, it is nowhere near the same amount last year.
Methley produced more than I’ve ever seen it last year. The fruits were tiny, and not as tasty raw as they had been in previous years. But there were so many that the job of thinning them would have been awfully tedious. I found that I could make jelly and juice out of them, and the result is rather tasty. Tasted quite a bit like sweet cherry to me.
Yoinashi Asian Pear has also decided to become biennial producer. This tree is a 3 way graft, with the tallest branch being the Yoinashi. The other two are Hamese and Mishirasu, which seem to be strongly annual producers.
I should have thinned the Yoinashi a little more last year to see if I could get it to produce every year. I really like Yoinashi.
First time producers
A few of my trees are fruiting for the first time this year. I have yet to taste most of these varieties, so excited to try them for the first time this year.
Hosui Asian Pear set a few fruits this year. I’m a little surprised it did not set more fruits. Last year it had flowers on it but no fruits. Perhaps it is a shy fruiter or just not old enough. It is roughly six years old.
White Doyenne European pear went bananas this year, and has set a massive amount of fruit. This is its first year flowering. I’ve already thinned the tree heavily or would have taken a photo for you.
Shinsui Asian Pear is a fairly young tree, but set a few fruits this year as well.
Nichols Plum has set quite a few fruits on a small tree. This was an impulse purchase at One Green World. I purchased it because I liked the color of the foliage. I don’t know much about it - but it must be either self-fertile or pollinated by Asian Plums, as I don’t have a European Plum mature enough to flower yet. Or perhaps it has a pollinator somewhere in the vicinity. There is conflicting info on the internet as to which type of plum this is - Asian or European.
Noir of Spain Mulberry is going bonkers with flowers this year, I hope it sets some fruit. It flowered last year as well, but the flowers aborted. Perhaps the tree was too young. This is its third year in the ground, and the tallest branch is about 10’.
Desert King Fig was planted last year, but is setting a few fruits this year!
Violette de Bordeux is a tree I’ve struggled with for a couple of years. In its original location, it just wasn’t growing or producing so I’ve moved it. It seems to be setting a few fruits this year. Yay!
New orchard plantings this year:
Conference Pear from Raintree
Jupiter Grape from One Green World
Italian Plum from One Green World
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Because I love to share: my 4 mature apples took last year off. This year they're covered with fruitlets and I am going to be ruthless in thinning. Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Spitzenberg, and Liberty - and all but the Liberty are still blooming. Transcendent crab also covered with fruitlets. Mid-mature apples: good fruit set on the Whitney, looks like nothing on the Ashmead's Kernel. Redstreak and White Winter Pearmain still blooming. Baby apples better put on some serious growth this year or I'm pulling and replacing them: pink pearl and roxbury russet.
Pears bloomed super-early - doesn't look like a lot of fruit set. Bartlett and Ubileen. Good fruit set on my Hollywood and Shiro plum. A few on the Santa Rosa (first year). Yet another barren year on the Elephant Heart. That tree is coming out this year; it's been 8 years, I've got a grand total of 3 fruits, and it always has a huge plum aphid problem. I'm also giving up on the peach at last... which means room for new trees! Howard's Miracle planted last fall is shooting up. Imperial Epineuse also planted last fall *might* still make it. If not, I'll get another of those and an Early Laxton for my european plums. And a blue damson in place of one of the removed trees.
Sweet cherries have a decent amount of fruit (Rainier and Van). Montmorency cherry is super-productive as always. Quince is just finishing flowering.
Started a separate "I ain't gonna prune these!" orchard down by the goat pen last fall. 2 mulberries (purple and pink), 2 pawpaws, 2 figs, and a persimmon. I think I lost the Desert King fig. The rest are slowly leafing out.