Martello wrote in message
...
Hi,

The old saying, "Don't cast your clouts 'till May is out" certainly rang
true here in Peterborough yesterday afternoon. A sunny morning was
followed
by a very stormy afternoon with hail stones the size of marbles. My two
rows
of young spinach have been destroyed as have a few plants in my hanging
baskets. My runner bean plants were surrounded by large hail stones, but
surprisingly appear to have survived the battering. All the petals on my
strawberry plants have been knocked off, does that mean they will not
fruit
this year? I hope not. Ah well, win some, lose some! That's the joy of
gardening.

Martello


Hi Martello,

Yes, we had a flash rain storm with very minor hailstones here in SE London,
but sustained no damage. However, we've had some rather damaging gusts of
wind, so I've been rushing around trying to stake everything.

It is possible that your strawberries will make fruits yet. It's fair to
say that petals probably attract bees to a pollination site, but provided
that bees attend your plants while the pollen is still viable (or did so
before you lost the petals), then the petals aren't really needed. Indeed,
they fall away after pollination has taken place.

I hope the bees have been kind to you.
Spider