Tree following - its blossom time (don't panic)

Opening clarification: To those of us who have watched Dad's Army, making a reference to Corporal Jones running around shouting 'don't panic' will make sense.  To those of us who have not seen this, try YouTube, there must be a clip of it somewhere.

It is blossom time, I am running around like Corporal Jones shouting don't panic as we have just had a period of air frost lasting several nights.  This struck fear into my heart as my quinclets were in danger.
I love the twirliness of the tight blossom buds.  They are almost like a barber's pole (another modern reference!).
There are so many blossoms on the tree this year, it is heavy with them.
In the sun they start to open.
They look wonderfully inviting for any passing bee who might want to drop in and help create a quince.  I tried pointing to the blossoms and shouting 'bee - this way', to which the bees replied 'I be this way' and flew off.
I am now in a state of anxious excitement.  The clock is now ticking, will there be quinclets, will there be more frost?  Two very important questions to which I have no answer as yet.

Come back next month and if you are very lucky there will be a swelling of the quinclets.  I don't remember that happening in Dad's Army ever, I may have strayed into Frankie Howerd territory.  I might need to update my reference points.

Thanks as ever to Lucy for herding the forest of followed trees

Comments

  1. I know nothing about quinces. Nothing. Therefore this suggestion may be complete rubbish - but . . . with squash I know people sometimes take a fine haired paintbrush (of the artistic kind) and use it to move pollen from flower to flower. I've also seen someone pollinating a greenhouse vine doing the same with a rabbit's tail tied to the end of a bamboo cane. So . . . given that your tree is little and all the flowers are reachable . . . do you think the paintbrush method might be worth a try?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a great idea, thanks, I shall try that.

      Delete
  2. Pretty buds and blooms!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the barber's pole analogy! I grew up in a garden with Japonica ... lovely blooms but the hard fruit used to disappoint!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just achieving fruit would be a bonus for me at the moment :)

      Delete
  4. Very nice, and hopefully no more frosts!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Let's hope your lovely blossom is pollinated successfully and you can enjoy fruit in the autumn. I have used the paintbrush method on my Damson as they flower very early and the weather is usually too cold for bees, it worked!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dont know much about this one, but I know all about Dads army, Frankie Howard, Terry Thomas, Eric Sykes,Tony Hancock, well you get the picture. Hope we are finished with the frost.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your quince looks very pretty with the blooms. I hope at last you will have some quices this year. Let´s hope frost stays away.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very nice photos! Thanks for sharing your quince.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Didn' t you follow this tree last year? I seem to remember sympathising with you over your quincelets back then. I had one quince on my tree last year. I was so pleased with it that I couldn't t bring myself to eat it. I kept it on a plate on the dining room table so that I could admire it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank you for the giggles! And I agree with Lucy, why not give the bees a helping hand and break out the paintbrush. I rather selfishly want to observer developing quincelets...

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments are approved before being published