Hopes of reporting clouds of frothy white blossom adorning my pear tree have been cruelly dashed as you can gather from the above photo. Records have been checked to confirm that last year blossom was fully open by 13th April but it is lagging behind this year. The flower buds are now clearly visible but not as much as a tantalising sliver of white. I'm not sure whether I noticed any brown marks on the emerging leaves and flowers last year but they are very much in evidence this spring and are rather unsightly. Are they the sign of something sinister or is this a normal occurrence on pear trees? The tree was only planted in the autumn of 2012 so we are still getting acquainted.
In terms of wildlife there is nothing to report. I've still to see a living creature on it. Given the fact that my 'Doyenne du Comice' is only a young slip of a girl it's not surprising. I'm sure that any self respecting bird would not want to perch so near to the ground in a garden which has several regular feline visitors. Even the squirrels are not attracted ...... yet ......
In other news her neighbours which include another pear and a crab apple look set to blossom around the same time possibly even sooner. A couple of Westmorland Damson slips have been bought this very day and will be joining their company soon. The pear blossoms may well come and go before May's tree following post but I will certainly take photos to record the occasion. As always a big thank you to Lucy over at 'Loose And Leafy' who enables bloggers to share and celebrate a glorious diversity of trees each month.
I've never grown a pear tree so can't comment on the brown marks but I doubt it will be anything sinister, especially on such young a tree. I was thrilled when I saw a blue tit hop from my bird bath on to first one of the newly planted apple trees and then on to the other. They're really small trees too so I was really surprised. I'm just waiting for all the blossom to arrive now, the peach tree is flowering but the plum, cherry and apple is yet to come, worth waiting for though.
ReplyDeletefantastic photo even so! such detail
ReplyDeleteGreat photo, pear blossom is one of my favourite flowers, lets hope we don't have any late frost.
ReplyDeleteIt is late this year. My birthday is 13 April and pear blossom is usually out for this date. Never mind, with this lovely warm weather everything will quickly catch up. I think Doyenne due Comice is a really good choice, it is an excellent pear.
ReplyDeleteOur pears are late to flower but even our plums haven't yet flowered. Maybe it will work out well as there would have been few pollinators in the earlier poor conditions.
ReplyDeleteMy pears aren't flowering yet, lots of buds promising to open but I will have to be a bit more patient. Damson and plum blossom is out and I've noticed a few bumble bees buzzing around so I hope to get a good crop this year.
ReplyDeleteIf it's any consolation this looks exactly like the photo of my Concorde pear that I posted yesterday!
ReplyDeleteI think most things are behind this year, not just your pear Anna. I had wondered as I read your post if the fact that the blossom is later it might help with pollination. It might work to your benefit.
ReplyDeleteNo pear blossom here either but as the nights are still rather cold I am not too anxious - needless to say I have never, ever had a pear survive on my tree to date - maybe this year will be the one - one can only hope.
ReplyDeletePerhaps last year was especially early Anna. The pears are rarely open before the end of April here, just before the apples in May. My neighbours have a lovely one on their west-facing wall which I can just about see from my bedroom window. Look forward to your photos of the flowers!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photo. Most of our trees were a little behind this year. I blame it on our cool cloudy weather during the early spring.
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