I was told that for every blossom that grows on an apple tree a fruit will
grow.
Can anyone tell me if this is true or not ?
If so does this apply to all fruit trees that blossom pear, plum etc. ?

"Terry B" wrote in message
...
I was told that for every blossom that grows on an apple tree a fruit
will
grow.
Can anyone tell me if this is true or not ?
If so does this apply to all fruit trees that blossom pear, plum etc.
?



While in theory each flower on a fruit tree is a potential fruit, in
practice this doesn't happen.

This could be for any of a variety of reasons, including sterility,
malformed flowers, frost damage, non-pollination etc.

Even then, once the fruit has formed, a number are often aborted by the
tree ('June drop') or removed by the grower to give fewer, better
fruits.

One commercial grower told me he reckons the optimum quantity of fruit
on his apple trees which are allowed to develop to maturity is 9%.

Neil

Xref: kermit uk.rec.gardening:202834

Thank you very much for your reply it was most helpful. Kind regards, Terry.

"Neil Jones" wrote in message
...

"Terry B" wrote in message
...
I was told that for every blossom that grows on an apple tree a fruit
will
grow.
Can anyone tell me if this is true or not ?
If so does this apply to all fruit trees that blossom pear, plum etc.
?



While in theory each flower on a fruit tree is a potential fruit, in
practice this doesn't happen.

This could be for any of a variety of reasons, including sterility,
malformed flowers, frost damage, non-pollination etc.

Even then, once the fruit has formed, a number are often aborted by the
tree ('June drop') or removed by the grower to give fewer, better
fruits.

One commercial grower told me he reckons the optimum quantity of fruit
on his apple trees which are allowed to develop to maturity is 9%.

Neil

"Terry B" wrote in message
...
Thank you very much for your reply it was most helpful. Kind regards,
Terry.

You are welcome.

I should add that I have assumed that fruit trees have hermaphrodite
flowers with both male and female parts. All the fruit tree in my garden
fit in to this category.

If a plant is monoecious (seperate male and female flowers on the same
plant) or dioecious (seperate male and female plants) then only the
female flowers are potential fruits.

Neil

The message
from "Terry B" contains these words:

I was told that for every blossom that grows on an apple tree a fruit will
grow.
Can anyone tell me if this is true or not ?

Someone's been telling you porkies.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/

In article , Neil Jones neil@the-
joneses.org.uk writes

I should add that I have assumed that fruit trees have hermaphrodite
flowers with both male and female parts. All the fruit tree in my garden
fit in to this category.

If a plant is monoecious (seperate male and female flowers on the same
plant) or dioecious (seperate male and female plants) then only the
female flowers are potential fruits.

Can anyone think of examples? All I could come up with was hazelnut ;-)
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article , Terry B
writes
I was told that for every blossom that grows on an apple tree a fruit will
grow.
Can anyone tell me if this is true or not ?
If so does this apply to all fruit trees that blossom pear, plum etc. ?


Every blossom has the potential to grow a fruit - this is a pretty
general rule - exceptions would be if you have separate male and female
blossoms, and I can't think of one off hand.

Whether it does depends firstly on whether the flower is pollinated (and
apples aren't good at pollinating themselves - they need another apple
tree of a different type which is in flower at the same time in order to
get good pollination - and of course they need the pollinating insects
around to take the pollen from one flower to the other - and secondly on
whether the apple tree has enough water during the growing season.
You'll notice the 'June drop' when many of the tiny applets are shed,
until the tree feels it's left with only as many as it can cope with.

I'm not sure whether a 100 per cent fruit set is possible in optimum
conditions - I suspect not.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In message , Kay Easton
writes
In article , Neil Jones neil@the-
joneses.org.uk writes

I should add that I have assumed that fruit trees have hermaphrodite
flowers with both male and female parts. All the fruit tree in my garden
fit in to this category.

Apples aren't all fertile with each others pollen though.

If a plant is monoecious (seperate male and female flowers on the same
plant) or dioecious (seperate male and female plants) then only the
female flowers are potential fruits.

Can anyone think of examples? All I could come up with was hazelnut ;-)

I am sure you know lots more. These are a few fun ones to start off the
game:

Ginkgo, Ginko biloba - females are not normally grown as ornamentals.
The fruits are extremely smelly and its pulp can cause skin
sensitisation. The nut inside is a delicacy in Japan and the extract
sold in various herbal medicines.

Hemp, Cannabis savita - not normally grown as an ornamental ;-)

Holly, Ilex sp. - cultivars are randomly named cross dressers so that if
you want berries you have to read the small print on labels *very*
carefully.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

In article , Martin Brown
writes
In message , Kay Easton
writes
In article , Neil Jones neil@the-
joneses.org.uk writes

I should add that I have assumed that fruit trees have hermaphrodite
flowers with both male and female parts. All the fruit tree in my garden
fit in to this category.

Apples aren't all fertile with each others pollen though.

Depends what you mean by fertile. When you choose apple varieties to
grow together, all you do is to make sure they flower at the same time
... which suggests that they are all fertile with each other's pollen,
but because they flower at different times, the pollen isn't always
available when needed.

The only exception would be the things which are usually expressed as
'needing two pollinators' - and that is because they don't produce
enough pollen of their own to pollinate their pollinator, so you have
to get a second pollinator to pollinate the pollinator.

If a plant is monoecious (seperate male and female flowers on the same
plant) or dioecious (seperate male and female plants) then only the
female flowers are potential fruits.

Can anyone think of examples? All I could come up with was hazelnut ;-)

I am sure you know lots more.

I was confining myself to things we grow as fruit in UK gardens!

These are a few fun ones to start off the
game:

Ginkgo, Ginko biloba - females are not normally grown as ornamentals.
The fruits are extremely smelly and its pulp can cause skin
sensitisation. The nut inside is a delicacy in Japan and the extract
sold in various herbal medicines.

shudder - I had no idea they were actually *eaten*!



Hemp, Cannabis savita - not normally grown as an ornamental ;-)

Nor specifically for the fruit. But that reminds me of hops. And, while
we're at it, maize.

Holly, Ilex sp. - cultivars are randomly named cross dressers so that if
you want berries you have to read the small print on labels *very*
carefully.

Oh, I disqualified them as their only fruit for mistle thrushes not for
humans ;-)

I was thinking -the vast majority of our fruits are in the rose family -
apples, pears, plums, quince, cherries, medlar, apricots, peaches,
strawberries, then you've got the bramble family and the currant family.
And they all have male and female parts in the same flower. Then you
have figs which are totally bizarre, and mulberries which I'm not sure
about. Oh, and vines.


--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm