On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 22:25:52 GMT, (Keith
Michaels) wrote:

In article ,
(Christopher Green) writes:
| (Iris Cohen) wrote in message ...
| My apple tree is blooming in September. What's up with that?
| Will I have apples in March?
| I'm in Seattle...
|
| A number of spring blooming shrubs and trees have bloomed sporadically this
| fall. It is due to our unusually cool and rainy summer.
| No, you won't have apples in March. The tree requires bees for pollination, &
| they are probably not around now. Also, you need the long hot days of summer to
| make fruit ripen. Just enjoy the extra flowers.
|
| Iris,
| Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
| "If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
| train."
| Robert Lowell (1917-1977)
|
| The OP is in Seattle. Growing apples on the Pacific coast is quite a
| bit different from growing them elsewhere. There are early-season
| low-chill varieties (mainly descendants of Golden Delicious, many of
| which are due to hybridizers in Israel) that are grown there but not
| in traditional apple country. These are selected to bloom and set
| fruit on little or zero chill and ripen even in cool, foggy summers.
|
| It's not unusual for apples to rebloom at or near the coast, and not
| unusual to get a decent second crop, especially in places that see no
| frost or not enough to damage the fruit. Bees won't settle down for
| the winter for a month or so, either, so there shouldn't be an issue
| with pollination. If the OP's variety is an early-season bearer such
| as 'Anna', it doesn't even need a long summer to ripen; a good "Indian
| summer" may suffice.
|
| --
| Chris Green

Unfortunately the blooming variety is Gravenstein. There are nearby
Spartan, Gala, Golden Delicious, and assorted crabs but none of those
are blooming now so I don't think I will get fruit.

Gravenstein isn't self-fertile, so I suppose you're right. Bummer, an
out-of-season basket of Gravensteins would be a boon indeed.

--
Chris Green