What's this grey cocoon/nest thing growing on my apple tree!??
Ellyria
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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Ellyria
4 years agobengz6westmd
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Soliciting help to make this farm a home for all things growing..
Comments (3)Start with your vision of the future. Do you want your place to look "more" like farm and not like a subdivision house? What makes a place "home" for you? Understand that grass is not a home for many things. Do you want more privacy for the front of your home? Then you may want to start with grass removal and an informal design to attract birds and nesting. There are too many places to start, so pick one area and develop that. Perhaps because the front is so tidy, or more activities will be in back, you'll want to start there, instead of the front. Lucky you! So much fun ahead. Marie...See MoreWhen to put out blue orchard bee cocoons for ideal pollination?
Comments (8)You put them out before they hatch. In my neck of the woods, the males come out in early April followed by the females about two weeks later. Those cocoons are going to hatch on their own schedule. Although you can accelarte that with warmth or delay it by cold storeage. I doubt either of those are appropriate but then again I don't know anything about your location or climate. In general they can deal with being outdoors over the winter and hatch when the conditions are right. Unless you live in an unsuitable climate. The last thing you want is for them to hatch indoors, that's likely a deatch sentence. I recommend keeping them outside protected from rain and exposed to morning sunshine. They will hatch when the time is right. They are able to forage on dandelions and other early blooming plants, even if you don't notice them. It is completely possible however that they will leave the area if there isn't any forage. The best thing you can do to keep them around is provide nesting locations. Where I live the stone fruits bloom before the female mason bees are out. Maybe the later cherries are OK. But they're mostly useful for the apples and late-blooming berries....See MoreBarren apple trees
Comments (17)I'm noticing the same thing on a few of my trees. My Sweet Sixteen had enough blooms, but I don't see a single apple now. Maybe I'm missing a few in all the Surround, but it should have quite a crop given its size (1.5" caliper last year, producing about 40 apples, and 2" caliper this year). Several other trees are also very patchy- certain sections of the trees have plenty of fruit and others were skipped entirely. I wonder if it has to do with the path that pollinators took. I've been thinking about getting a honeybee hive- maybe that would have helped. My wife suggested it for the honey, but I'm more interested in getting everything pollinated. I also have a few very late bloomers where I'm still not sure what the fruit-set will be. Pomme Gris still has a few flowers, which I've tried to avoid hitting with Surround....See MoreBest Bee to pollinate fruit trees (apple)
Comments (15)I've read various sources that Mason bees are the better pollinator due to: 1) They are sloppier with the pollen they collect in hairs on their lower abdomens which drops directly onto the middle of the flower when they land. Whereas honey bees pack it neatly into baskets near their hindquarters. 2) They fly during drearier weather. 3) They do not fixate on alternate pollen sources. 4) The visit more flowers per hours. I can vouch for #1. #2 I think is overstated. My observations is Mason Bees stay "indoors" on cool or wet days as much as Honey Bees do. #3 and #4 I don't know. What I will say for sure is that keeping mason bees would be easier than honey bees. Smaller numbers, no stings, no diseases or parasites to worry about. No swarms, no neighbor issues, no big hive messes. However, Mason Bees where I live don't even hatch out of their cocoons until *after* the plums blossom and generally after (or late into) the sweet cherry bloom. For apples the timing is great, hatching in early April and remaining active thru the end of May. Also, when your Mason Bees hatch out, if there isn't sufficient flower forage in the area, Mason Bees have no choice but to abandon the area. I doubt I need the Mason Bees but they are a fun activity. When my plums are blooming and there aren't any bees around, when I walk up to those trees I can see various insect activity throughout. Flies and gnats and such... I guess....See MoreEllyria
4 years agosusanzone5 (NY)
4 years agosusanzone5 (NY)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoEllyria
4 years agotheforgottenone1013 (SE MI zone 5b/6a)
4 years agoKevin Reilly
4 years agoxiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
4 years agothefof Zone 8/9 UK
4 years agoJ Williams
4 years agokarin_mt
4 years agotsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
4 years agoLynn in Parkton, Maryland
4 years ago
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5