Bloomin' Beautiful
THIS IS the time of the year that many of our fruit trees come into blossom. Whether they are the actual fruiting variety or the ornamental ones, they are all beautiful.
For those who may not know, some varieties are grown for the blossom only. These do not bear fruit.
Cherry blossoms are one of my favourites and, of course, Japan is the most famous country to see them (keep in the mind the opposite seasons!).
But we do have cherry blossom trees growing here and nearly every garden in our street has at least one or more.
Even though their show is brief (about 10 days), it is worth having them because of their stunning beauty.
If you would like to grow fruit trees, you should know a couple of things. Some types, such as apples, pears and plums, need another variety that flowers at exactly the same time because they need a cross-pollinator.
This allows the bees to take viable pollen from one tree to another. You either have to grow this second one in your own garden or there has to be one in a neighbour’s property within bee flying distance from your tree or it won’t produce fruit.
Other fruit trees – such as apricots, peaches and nectarines – are self-pollinating, so one tree is enough. You can buy trees with several varieties grafted on to them but these will not be successful unless you are vigilant in keeping the stronger variety under control. Because there are some exceptions to the general rule, ask questions when buying your trees.
Try growing a fruit tree for its fresh fruit and perhaps make jam or wine.
