Talkback: Tree buds in spring

I agree with you.Most of my shrubs survived the cold fine and are flowering better than ever, with the exception of the ceonothus which seems to have lost a lot of growth and leaves(it is an evergreen type). Sadly my garden is too small for any trees.

I love it when the leaves erupt in a fat bunch on my tree peony and in no time at all the fat buds of the flowers appear. I also like the shrubs that have flowers before the leaves like forsythia, flowering quince and Cornus chinensis. At the moment I have to force myself indoors to do necessary voluntary work but do so very reluctantly as the beauty of my garden unfolds.

It's wonderful to see plants bursting into growth. I am watching the golden hop racing up our pergola and have taken to marking its daily progress. This seems to be about an inch a day. Amazing!

i have just bought a pear tree is it usual not 2 have any buds on it yet

I must admit,it is an exciting time of the year when we see all the buds forming and wait to see the lovely leaves and flowers that follow. Having said that, we have a Beech tree that overhangs our garden from the neighbouring infant school. It is a handsome specimen, but this year it is infected by a white aphid on the underside of the leaves. They secrete a horrible sticky substance which drops onto the plants and slabs below making a terrible mess. I believe this secretion can cause black mould on leaves and may damage the plants. In the past I have moved potted plants but some are now too big to manhandle so I'm hoping for plenty of rain which may wash away some of the residue left by these pests. Has anybody out there experienced this problem? Luckily it doesn't occur every year so it must be down to the weather conditions.

Yes I agree with you. It's a lovely sight when trees bud in the spring. I am very new to growing fruit trees but decided to have a go last year with the new breed of fruit trees that can be grown in containers. I have been checking on them and they are all in different stages of budding. Sadly I spied little red 'eggs' sticking to the stem of the new young tender leaves of my 2 cherry trees. Can anyone advise me as on this matter?