This is the time of year when I stroll through my yard looking closely at the flowers on my fruit trees. Where are they? Are the flowers on branches that are growing anew right now, or on branches that grew last summer, or on older branches?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are the flowers forming only at the branch tips? Are they forming up and down the entire sides of branches (like the Red Baron peach flowers in the photo above)? Are they forming on long branches or on short, stubby branches?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I recommend that you, too, have a look at your trees and ask these questions. Seeing the answers will inculcate the facts better than reading them in a book or on a website. And knowing the answers will allow you to predict where your fruit will be this summer, as well as guide your pruning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To get you started, follow along with me as I look at where some of the fruit trees in my yard were making their flowers yesterday:<\/p>\n\n\n\n