A year in pictures in the life of a Dwarf Cherry tree located on a south-facing patio. Bought in 2018 it did not fruit in the first year, then in 2019 produced its first crop. A dwarf fruit tree is exactly like any other  fruit tree but its genome restricts its growth to less than 1.5m. It produces flowers, leaves and fruit exactly the same as any other fertile cherry tree. This particular variety of cherry is self-pollinating so does not need another similar tree nearby. Clearly these trees produces masses of flowers but only a small percentage develop into fruits. The flower and leaf buds are formed in the autumn and if they survive the winter,  the flowers emerge first in spring, closely followed by the leaves. The flowers came out slightly earlier this year than last. Last year by June the fruit had formed and was ripe by mid July. The leaves turned red by November and this year the buds were getting ready to open in March and it now in full flower.

July 13th 2019

The fruit is botanically classified as a drupe which consists of three of the ovary wall layers – an outer skin, a fleshy middle layer and an inner stony layer which surrounds the seed. Cherry, Blackthorn, Olive, Apricot, Peach and  Plum fruits are drupes. 

The Common Hornbeam Carpinus betulus is native to Southern England and is also found throughout Europe and Turkey. It is a medium-sized tree and can grow to 30m. It is common in hedgerows and woods and has been planted in many parks and gardens. Its wood is too hard to be used in general carpentry but has been used in hard wearing tasks such as chopping blocks and cog-wheels. In Epping Forest Hornbeams were pollarded to provide firewood. The tree can be confused with the Common Beech but its oval leaves are toothed not smooth-edged. The bark of the tree is very unusual. It is smooth, like the Beech, but is patterned with distinctive silver-grey vertical lines. Male catkins appear in spring and the bracts that held the fruit hang on the tree through winter. 

Tulips are coming into flower now. Tulips are members of the Lily family. The Tulipa (Tulip) genus with  about 75 species is native to mountainous areas of Eurasia and North Africa. The main area of diversity is Central Asia. Some species and many cultivars are planted in ornamental gardens where they are prized for their spring flowers. Early cultivars were developed in Persia in the 10th century and were common in the gardens of the Ottoman Empire. Introduced to Europe in the 16th century and Britain in 1578, they became incredibly popular in The Netherlands  in the 1630s in what became known as ‘tulip mania’. Today The Netherlands are the world’s main producers of tulip bulbs. Variegated tulips (example shown below) were originally formed as a result of viral infection but are now stable variants produced by long breeding programmes. 

Wild Tulip Tulipa sylvestris is a yellow tulip introduced to Britain  in the 16th century and now found in meadows and orchards in southern and eastern Britain. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa.

At the moment, in late March, two attractive garden plants are  in flower – the Garden Anemone and the popular Wallflower ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ . Two trees have also recently come into flower – the Wild Cherry and the Norway Maple. Some early flowering cherries may already be in flower but late frosts may spoil the blossom.

The Wallflower ‘Bowles’s Mauve’  is a sterile, short-lived shrubby perennial that can be propagated from cuttings and is very attractive to butterflies. This is one of the most popular wallflower cultivars. Wallflowers are members of the Cabbage family in which flowers have 4 petals in the form of a cross, hence the old Latin name for the family of  Cruciferae.

The Norway Maple is a tree native to Europe, from Scandinavia to the Caucasus. It was introduced to Britain in 1683 and is now commonly found in gardens, streets and parks. It is one of the first trees to look green in spring, when its green flowers, shown above, open before the leaves. 

PEAR TREES

Pear trees come into flower in March. The Common Pear and the Callery Pear have identical white flowers but the Callery Pear is sterile and does not bear fruit. They can be confused at a distance with the Crab Apple but they flower 2 to 4 weeks before the Apple. 

The Callery Pear is native to China and Vietnam. It was introduced to Britain in 1908. In the form of one of its cultivars ‘Chanticleer’, this ornamental pear can now be found on many streets. It is compact, flowers early and has a very late autumn colour. Its fruit is small, hard and insignificant.

When the Common Pear flowers open, the stamens with their red anthers are bent inward and do not reach the height of the yellow stigmas. The stigmas become receptive before the anthers release their pollen, and as the stamens mature they straighten, placing the anthers at the same height as the stigmas. At this point, the anthers release their pollen and  turn dark red. The flowers are pollinated by various flies and bees but will self-pollinate if none are about. This photo was taken at the end of March 2019. Th learn more about pollination and flower parts click here

The tiny flower is remarkably complex. The flower has 5 unequal sized  petals – a front petal with a long grey spur behind it, 2 petals either side  and 2 petals above.   Secreted nectar collects in the petal spur.  When a pollinator, such as a bumble bee,  alights on the front petal and extends its proboscis towards the nectar in the petal spur it inadvertently touches the reproductive parts and pollinates the flower. A complex arrangement of anthers and stigma prevents self-pollination.

The Garden Pansy Viola x wittrockiana is a hybrid of several viola species, including the wild pansy. It was created in the 1830s in Britain and named after a Swedish botanist. It has 2 upper petals, 2 side petals and one large lower petal. They are treated as hardy annuals although they are biennials and will produce seed in their second year. Generally they are grown from seed and planted out in the second year, then discarded.