Daylight savings has at last finished, the slide into winter has truly begun. Autumn flowers and brightly coloured fruits are fulfilling their life cycles before some slip into dormancy.
My first Camellia flower has appeared. I talk a little about camellias in the latest episode of The Flowerpot Pen podcast which is available now on Spotify and Anchor, and also very shortly on Apple and Google podcasts too!
This particular Camellia is a Sasanqua variety which are usually the first to flower and it’s part of a mixed Camellia hedge so I can look forward to flowers throughout winter.
Another source of colour in gardens through the early part of Autumn are the jewelled colours of Crabapples hanging in clusters from branches before the leaves turn colour and drop as the tree becomes dormant for winter.
There are quite a few varieties of Crabapples with varying degrees of attractiveness. The one in my garden has pretty simple flowers but the tree comes into it’s own when it’s loaded with clusters of bright red baubles of fruit. Other Crabapple varieties have spectacular flowers but aren’t that pretty in fruit. Then there are some that are just spectacular through all their phases, it just takes a bit of research to find the one you want.
“What is the difference between Crabapples and Apples?” I hear you say. Well, not much apart from the obvious. Crabapples are Malus sp. as are Apples. The main differences being a slightly more pointed leaf shape and smaller fruit which grow in clusters, Crabapples are measured as being 2inches or less, while apples are measured as being over 2inches.
Apples and Crabapples are in the Rosacea family which is the same botanic group as roses, strawberries, pears, quince; over 4000 plant species. They are in the sub group Malinae, along with Pears, Hawthorns, and a few others. One feature of this sub group is that their fruit are technically called Pomes.
A pome is described as:
: a fleshy fruit (such as an apple or pear) consisting of an outer thickened fleshy layer and a central core with usually five seeds enclosed in a capsule.
Definition from: Merriam-Webster. com
While the fruit of the Crabapple tree is edible, it’s small size make it a time consuming exercise to do anything with them (for someone with my short attention span anyway). I have made Crabapple Jelly with the fruit from my tree on occasion though. As with Apples, the seeds contain arsenic so eating too many isn’t a good idea anyway.
Til next time!
***please look for my podcast, The Flowerpot Pen on Spotify, Anchor, Google, and Apple (coming soon) and subscribe! 👊🏻
The Flowerpot Pen 