Life /
Polish plantlife and similar flora where you live. [81]
Cherry (Prunus spp.) - Do pigeons eat all the cherries before they're ripe. This can be a common occurence when there are pigeons around. Other birds eat them but are usually a little more patient. The only real answer is strategically placed netting. The Romans actually deliberately caught birds for food using the Mountain Ash tree (Sorbus aucuparia). Aucuparia actually means bird catcher.
Apple (Malus domestica) - Remember to pick off the underdeveloped apples at the end of the season or they stay on the tree and can go rock hard and even host pests and diseases. The tree will produce more fruit if you do this. Another good idea, if your apples are too small, pick about half of them off long before they are ripe. The remaining apples can then grow bigger as there is more water and energy available to them. Very small apples are pretty much useless, and it's better to have a few larger apples than lots of small ones.
The stuff in the third picture, I don't know about. The totem pole looks like a conifer that may very well be dead. Dead trees can still harbour wildlife, so I'd be inclined to leave it alone and shift operations elsewhere. An old peach that seems to be past it's use by date should actually be removed. It too will harbour wildlife, but not always the kind of wildlife you want - pests and diseases may be lurking there. The easiest thing to do is get a new tree and plant it somewhere else.
The final picture is of a vine. As with the apple, it may be a good idea to thin out the grapes when they are still small. Remove a load of bunches so that the others can grow more instead. It should be in as warm and sunny a position as possible. If this means moving it, then wait until winter, then dig it up and move it. Winter is also the time to remove branches - cut it back to a manageable size. It flowers on the current year's growth, so don't worry about cutting too much off. To prevent damage by heavy bunches of grapes weighing the branches down, make sure it has something to grow on, either wires or a trellis. You will notice how it grows tendrils that wrap around anything available to support itself.
So some of the crucial things to think about are: members of the rose family (roses, apples, pears, plums, peaches) don't like to grow in the same spot as another member of the rose family has recently grown in.
Cutting back for most deciduous plants should be done in the winter. For fruit trees, cutting too much can result in a year without flowers or fruit. Ornamental plants are usually better cut back at the end of flowering.
I'm sure there is more worth mentioning, but I'm off now to have a game of Scrabble. I look forward to more plants and more pictures.
