Blossom Time at Appletree Cottage and Shandon Farm

Apple Orchard begins to bloom

Beauty of Moray - pink blossom and green apples

Its the beginning of May and our apple trees at Shandon Farm and Appletree Cottage are well underway with their blossom.  Festoons of pink and white flowers are starting to appear on many trees

Beauty of Moray - one of our most rewarding varieties

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Different varietis of tree flower at different times.  Orchardists need to take this into account when considering cross pollination.

Discovery variety has white blossom and red apples

Some trees have white flowers (eg Discovery) and others pink (eg. James Grieve and Beauty of Moray)  If the flower is successfully pollinated by insects a small bulge appears on the flower stem immediately behind the flower head.  This with luck will develop into an apple

James Grieve apple blossom - apples are red and yellow

We started planting apple trees at Shandon Farm in 2014 and now have over 360 trees and 46 varieties.  Fingers crossed for a fruitful summer!