a good year for blackthorn blossom
This has been an exceptional spring for blossom.
Blackthorn (prunus spinosa) is the earliest flowering of our native trees and it has been in abundant bloom since February and is still going strong. Blackthorn is a signature plant of traditional hedgerows and we included it in our boundary hedge. It has a suckering habit that means it forms bulky clumps that don't always follow the lines of the hedgerow. Left unchecked it can create impenetrable spiny thickets that are great for wildlife. The blackthorn produces mini-damsons that are bitter to the taste: sloes.
The drought we have had in March and April so far has been the main reason for this exceptionally long blossoming. Rain is great for the soil but brings blossom to a halt. We have also missed spring frosts this year and frost is another reason that blossom finishes early.
This prolonged period of blossom will be of huge benefit for insects and we have seen lots of butterfly activity already so far - no doubt stimulated by the very warm weather and the availability of nectar from early blossom. Commas typically use blackthorn as an energy source.
Bees too will be benefiting from this early bumper harvest and the early swarming I have already discussed may be a response to this.
Also benefiting will be makers of sloe gin, come the autumn.
Blackthorn (prunus spinosa) is the earliest flowering of our native trees and it has been in abundant bloom since February and is still going strong. Blackthorn is a signature plant of traditional hedgerows and we included it in our boundary hedge. It has a suckering habit that means it forms bulky clumps that don't always follow the lines of the hedgerow. Left unchecked it can create impenetrable spiny thickets that are great for wildlife. The blackthorn produces mini-damsons that are bitter to the taste: sloes.
The drought we have had in March and April so far has been the main reason for this exceptionally long blossoming. Rain is great for the soil but brings blossom to a halt. We have also missed spring frosts this year and frost is another reason that blossom finishes early.This prolonged period of blossom will be of huge benefit for insects and we have seen lots of butterfly activity already so far - no doubt stimulated by the very warm weather and the availability of nectar from early blossom. Commas typically use blackthorn as an energy source.
Bees too will be benefiting from this early bumper harvest and the early swarming I have already discussed may be a response to this.
Also benefiting will be makers of sloe gin, come the autumn.
2 comments:
Rob,
Thanks for letting me about what 'sloes' are -- I'd heard of 'sloe gin', but had no idea that it was a Prunus relative that produced them.
How interesting to have drought prolong your spring.... we had a strangely foreshortened spring, because of exceptionally cold weather in January, followed by exceptionally warm weather in February, resulting in an explosion of flowering in March, with winter and early spring-flowering plants overlapping in odd ways!
Hmm,
LIsa
We were in Yorkshire earlier in the week and saw the unusual overlapping of blackthorn and later spring flowers like bluebells (hyacinthoides non- scripta).
A memorable if desiccated spring! Rob
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