Today I noticed the onset of anthesis, or bloom, in the Pinot grigio vines - as I spent the entire day suckering, thinning, disbudding (odd word) and stuffing wayward shoots under trellis wires. Buds, buds everywhere. This time of year the vines, with their enthusiastic unruliness, tend to push buds out from wherever they can. Leaf buds, flower buds, axillary buds, adventitious buds, lateral buds, water sprouts, suckers - there is new, succulent vegetative tissue pushing out everywhere. Adventitious buds are sometimes helpful in replacing lost positions on a grapevine, but generally all this extra growth just serves to divert vigour and productivity from the buds I selected when I was pruning.
Some buds on grapevines can remain dormant indefinitely, but when conditions are just right these latent buds may become active and push out from the older, woody tissue where they have been snoozing. The mini inflorescence in the photograph was apparently very impatient to do something this spring, as it budded out from this vines trunk, just above the graft union, without any leaves for companionship. Hope it doesn't get too comfortable because it's coming off tomorrow. Sorry buddy!
8 comments:
Sounds like Jurassic park: Nature finds a way!
You must be exhausted!
This is interesting VG about the buds, especially the dormant ones, We have a fig tree in the garden, which used to have a prolific growth of figs, green ones and absolutely delicious,
Eventually it started taking over the part of our dining area on the patio, that I reluctantly allowed husband in collusion with our mad gardener to cut it down... oh boy did I regret that...However the silly sods didn't take the roots out and now its growing well again with lots of baby figs on it......
They both have been told in no uncertain terms what will happen to them if they touch my Fig Tree again !!
I look forward to baked figs stuffed with goats cheese, wrapped in pancetta and drizzled with honey ....
Best wishes from a rather windy Liverpool,
Di..xx
Trubes: I want some baked figs stuffed with goats cheese, wrapped in pancetta and drizzled with honey ....
Figs are second only to sex.
NHW: Don't get tired doing stuff I like.
Trubes: Love the fig story. I have 3 baby fig trees in pots that came from one fig tree that was a gift and died of frost damage, but lives on because of racoons, or some such animal that spread the seed.
I'll be over shortly for the fig/cheese/pancetta delicacies :)
NHW & Tomasso: Boys, calm down!
Vino Girl Take your fig trees out of planters and re home them in a sunny spot, preferably against a wall, and water every day... that's how mine flourished..xx
Ah yes Thomas that may be so but it just depends where you put your figs ...
Sorry VG it's the 'Scouse' sense of humour...
Trubes: Yes, I need to do something with them, at the very least they need repotting.
I am surprised that fig trees do so well at home.
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