Grow Your Own Magazine

This question came into my head recently, some trees blossum before they put on any leaves, some tree put on leaves before they blossum. Anyone have any ideas why this is so? Does it relate to wind v insect pollination?

Funnily enough I saw some stunning flowering cherries this morning and I wondered about the leaves too.

My colleague with a botanical background says that it is probably a combination of things - the trees are filling a niche at a time when early insects need food; the fruit take a certain amount of time to develop and ripen; the leaves may (in the trees origination) have hindered the flowers, so those individuals which randomly produce flowers first had an advantage and were more successful in the long term.

What do you think? They sound quite sensible ideas to me.

Does for me cutecumber, very sensible!

The first rule of survival is procreation so if a tree can do without its leaves for a while whilst it procreates withiout much competition from other plants for the insects that pollinate it,it just seems to me it's getting it's priorities right!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Perhaps the leaves feed bugs that would eat the flowers and developing fruit?
Plants can afford to loose petals to frost damage, unlike leaves.

The plot thickens!

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My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

Big question Ian. And don't look for a one line answer. You're in the realms of why do birds sing; is there any such thing as a free lunch; do animals experience emotion ? Hope you can see the connection between these questions.
If you haven't read it, start with King Solomons Ring by Konrad Lorenz. It won't answer the questions for you but it should raise them - and it is a lovely read.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

I would imagine birds sing to demonstrate fitness and mark out their territory. I was just wondering whether there are any rules that go with blossum timing. Blossum is there to attract insects, yes? and is bright to aid this, yes? Blossum hidden in greenery, is it less bright, probably not? Is it more highly scented? I just naively thought there may be a general rule to the order of things. I guess this is just the scientist in me!!! Like cutecumber suggested, maybe it is all about creating a niche, or a window of opportunity to feed a particular insect, that does the fertilisation.