15-7-2018
More difficulty! The weather changed from cold and wet to hot and dry fairly suddenly mid-May. Now Ireland is experiencing a drought, including hosepipe ban, and high temperatures. The usual cloud cover is gone most days.
Yet, the apple tree is unfazed by these weather conditions. Its leaves are green and in good shape. The side shoot hasn’t grown in the past month, but the main shoot has. Not by much, but still!
This is due to apical dominance, one of the laws of tree growth. The top bud (also called apical bud) gets to grow the strongest, as it is the one to bring the tree towards the light. Light is necessary for photosynthesis, the tree’s way of producing energy. Side shoots don’t grow quite as strongly. Certainly in times of hardship (such as drought), energy is conserved and used mainly for survival.

Different plants have different ways of conserving energy. You may have noticed that some trees, while green and strong overall, have a few dried out twigs hanging down.
Other plants shed most of their leaves altogether in order to keep their core parts alive.
Yet others, who are strong enough to keep going, extend their flowering period to ensure seed production and hence survival.

Today’s rainy weather is a blessing.

Photos: Apple tree; side shoot same length as one month ago; main shoot slightly longer than one month ago; Beech (Fagus sylvatica) drying out some twigs; Gunnera tinctoria shedding leaves; Potato Rose (Rosa rugosa) still producing flower buds while already forming rose hips.