Thursday, March 18, 2010

Fruit Tree Update

There's leaves popping out on 3 of the four new fruit trees that I planted on February 3. The little tiny stick of a fig tree, Violette de Bordeaux, has a little tuft of leaves at the tip of the "trunk" and is even sporting a few baby figs.



The Panache fig is putting out leaves along the top of the trunk. I really need to cut this tree down to about 18 inches since I want to train it into more of a bush than a tree, but it's just so hard for me to lop it off. But, now that I know that it's going to take off I need to get it done before it gets out of hand.



The Sweet pomegranate was the first tree to leaf out and seems to be really happy. I'm going to pull some of those upright branches down into a more horizontal position to give it a better form. They seem to be a bit too tiny to hang rocks off of, so I plan on using some green plastic ties tied to the branches and staked into the ground.



And finally, I hope that I see a bit of swelling in the buds on the mulberry. It's not looking as good as I would like, but at least the branches aren't dry and brittle. If I remember correctly, the mulberry tree in my last garden was always one of the last trees to leaf out.




12 comments:

  1. The best time of the year is when the leaves start sprouting. Leaves are a month off here but if our warms temps keep up it may be much sooner.

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  2. Seems like they all have settled in nicely ! Are they all mature enough to produce ? I can't wait to see the figs, the pomegranates too !

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  3. There is something very satisfying about seeing the trees leaf out and bloom. It truly marks the start of spring in a more significant way. I was appreciating the amount of leafing out and bud swell just this morning on my blueberries, bush cherries, and raspberry plants.

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  4. Those tiny sprouts are always a delight to the eyes, aren't they!

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  5. Oh, how exciting! They look great. Our fig tree, planted last year, isn't producing leaves yet, althought there are some signs of growth in the buds.

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  6. That will be neat if you get a few figs off it this year. It is just a young sapling right?

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  7. I can't wait to purchase a couple of fig trees. I'm glad yours are adjusting well.

    It's funny. I feel like the only fruit trees I remember seeing growing up in the inter-city of Philadelphia were mulberries. To me, they're kind of like a weed. haha.

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  8. I love spring and all of the new buds and flowers that it brings. Excitement is in the air!

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  9. Dan, we actually get 2 times every year when the leaves sprout, in the spring when the winter dormant plants sprout and in late fall/early winter when the summer dormant plants sprout. Many of our native plants cope with our normal summer droughts by going dormant. Some drop their leaves or just stop growing, then they leaf out or resume growing after our first rains in the fall. But I always enjoy the return of greenery whenever it occurs.

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    miss m, they seem to be off to a good start, but they really aren't mature enough to produce fruit. I'll remove those little figs so that the tree can put its energy into vegetative growth.

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    kitsapFG, as a gardener I get a feeling like I've done something right when the plants leaf out again, even though I know I really can't take any credit for them doing what they naturally do. I guess it's just a good feeling to know that I didn't kill them somehow. :) The buds on my grapevine are swelling, so I didn't kill it when I gave it a really hard pruning this winter.

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    Chandramouli S, they are a delight indeed!

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    chaiselongue, I am excited about maybe having homegrown figs again! Your winter seemed to be quite cold this year, colder than what we got here, so I'm not surprised that your figs are a bit slower to leaf out.

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    Mr. H., That little tree is just a little stick, hardly even a sapling yet! I suspect that even if I left the figs on the tree that they wouldn't develop properly, so I'll remove them before they get much larger.

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    Thomas, I'm not surprised that you want to grow figs and I know you'll do a great job of it. :) I guess mulberries are rather common in some places, but the one I'm growing is special. . . really!

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    Lou Murray, Excitement is the feeling at this time of year, there's so much potential, so many things to look forward to in the garden. Yup, I love it too.

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  10. The weather has been so wonderful, my garden is definitely ahead of schedule on leafing out this year. My favorite past time the last few evening has been to wander around inspecting everything for new growth.

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  11. It's an exciting time of the year, isn't it? Your trees look wonderful.

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  12. Ahh great to see your mulberry looks just like mine! I was getting a little worried...

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