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Post by Mack Apiary Bees on Jan 8, 2024 9:47:59 GMT -5
My friend Paul that lives near me and a few miles closer to Indiana and KY sent me this picture and asked if my silver maple trees where blooming yesterday. I checked my two and both had full size buds, but not blooming. The trees normally bloom last week of February to 1st of March.  Are there any experts on trees in I-H? This is almost two months early. |
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Post by esshup on Jan 8, 2024 9:56:36 GMT -5
Don't worry, with the cold snap coming in a week they won't be blooming any more.
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Post by Mack Apiary Bees on Jan 8, 2024 10:02:02 GMT -5
Don't worry, with the cold snap coming in a week they won't be blooming any more. Will they re-bloom at normal time? Maples blooms can handle a freeze, but not sure on very cold that is coming. I know there are no pollinators flying. |
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Post by bill9068 on Jan 8, 2024 10:20:20 GMT -5
Looking at the tulip poplars on my property
And at home they have tulip buds on them. Never took notice before so I don’t know if that’s normal.
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Post by esshup on Jan 8, 2024 23:44:49 GMT -5
Don't worry, with the cold snap coming in a week they won't be blooming any more. Will they re-bloom at normal time? Maples blooms can handle a freeze, but not sure on very cold that is coming. I know there are no pollinators flying. I've had apple trees bloom 3x and every time the blooms were killed by sub freezing temps. After they tried the 4th time and were whacked back by a freeze (not a frost) some completely died and the others leafed out but no blossoms. I lost about 25% of the trees in the orchard that year. |
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Post by astronankin on Jan 9, 2024 8:22:54 GMT -5
They are getting tricked by the "warm" weather. My dad's the tree expert in the family, and so that's how I know what's going on. Some years ago (maybe 5??) when we had that very warm winter all the trees around here flowered and leafed out in January and February, then got hit super hard by the delayed cold spell that came in March and April. They didn't die but for the rest of the year most had no fruits, no flowers, and a bunch of curled brown leaves. So in a way this is normal IF the winter weather is abnormally warm and wet. Otherwise this doesn't generally happen, I think. I don't remember a lot about trees (did Forestry in 4-H and even did extremely well in the Area and State Forestry Career Development Events tests), so I can't tell you much about their life cycle and nothing about their chemical responses to weather, etc, but I do know that trees flowering, etc in the early winter is not right. However, they do have buds that grow after the previous leaves are shed. Those buds grow through the winter then open in the spring. This could be what you are seeing. But I don't really know. I can ask my dad. I've also never paid too much attention to silver maples until they start leafing out in the spring (up here they are the first trees to start leafing out and flowering).
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Post by Mack Apiary Bees on Jan 9, 2024 10:54:29 GMT -5
They are getting tricked by the "warm" weather. My dad's the tree expert in the family, and so that's how I know what's going on. Some years ago (maybe 5??) when we had that very warm winter all the trees around here flowered and leafed out in January and February, then got hit super hard by the delayed cold spell that came in March and April. They didn't die but for the rest of the year most had no fruits, no flowers, and a bunch of curled brown leaves. So in a way this is normal IF the winter weather is abnormally warm and wet. Otherwise this doesn't generally happen, I think. I don't remember a lot about trees (did Forestry in 4-H and even did extremely well in the Area and State Forestry Career Development Events tests), so I can't tell you much about their life cycle and nothing about their chemical responses to weather, etc, but I do know that trees flowering, etc in the early winter is not right. However, they do have buds that grow after the previous leaves are shed. Those buds grow through the winter then open in the spring. This could be what you are seeing. But I don't really know. I can ask my dad. I've also never paid too much attention to silver maples until they start leafing out in the spring (up here they are the first trees to start leafing out and flowering). Yes, silvers are the 1st in my area and my signal for beekeeping. Most years its the very end of February to 1st of March (28-3). I know maple flowers can withstand some freezing days-? No clue if weeks to months very cold after the bud opens. |
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