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Author Topic: Wild Cherrie trees  (Read 2062 times)

Offline harvey

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Wild Cherrie trees
« on: March 16, 2010, 12:33:02 pm »
I have been reading every post on the maple trees.  I have a lot of wild cherrie trees around my property.  Do ya think they will provide pollen and nectar?  I am not sure if any of them every actually have cherries.  maybe cause the birds eatem all for they have time to mature?   They do tend to have a lot of white flowers in the spring.   In a large group of these trees is one place I plan on putting a swarm trap.  I have never seen bees on the trees but they are very tall, 40 foot or so and although you can see the white flowers I could never see a bee that high.

Offline Scadsobees

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Re: Wild Cherrie trees
« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2010, 01:36:55 pm »
I've got a ton of choke-cherry trees around, and they too get tons of flowers.   Tall trees, they produce little berries, not the good edible kind.  The flowers and berries are in more of a spray of blooms versus a cluster on my pie cherries.  They bloom around the end of may, I think.

I haven't actually seen bees on them, but I'm sure that they are.  That time of year there is so many things blooming that they don't focus on the cherries, like they are on the maples right now....yesterday (and I'm sure today) my maples were buzzing loudly enough that my wife and kids thought that there was a swarm out there.
Rick

Offline Two Bees

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Re: Wild Cherrie trees
« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2010, 02:58:17 pm »
Must be a different kind of wild cherry than what we have in NC.  Our wild cherry trees have berries on them but start out in the spring with caterpillar nests at about the same time as the leaves come out!
"Don't know what I'd do without that boy......but I'm sure willin' to give it a try!"
J.D. Clampett commenting about Jethro Bodine.

Offline danno

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Re: Wild Cherrie trees
« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2010, 04:57:53 pm »
I have many wild cherries on my farm including one big one right next to my barn.  I have a doz colonies within 30 ft of this one and in May as Rick said it flowers and gets worked very hard by the bees

Offline harvey

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Re: Wild Cherrie trees
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2010, 06:23:48 pm »
Thats cool,  I wasn't really sure what My bee's would be getting now.  I havn't seen any pollen coming in yet.  There are some maple around back in the woods but not sure where.  I moved three small ones into the yard a few years ago.  They lived but have not grown much.  The cherrie trees are actually pretty thick back in the woods, and some of them are quite large,  couple feet in diameter.  I want to put a swarm trap back near them.  I think they bloom and are in flower right around the end of may and that is when I caught this swarm last year.   
  For the Michiganders?   I put two quarts of 1 to 1 on top of my hive yesterday.  Put an empty supper on to enclose the syrup.  Is this right or am I encouraging this hive which is pretty strong and full of bees to swarm?  I also removed the hard chuck of sugar that was left on the top bars.  I set it out front so they could still get it if they wanted it.  I put five pounds of sugar on the first of February as a percaution.  They ate about half of it and still have honey left in the hive?   I haven't done any type of inspection yet as far as pulling frames or anything. 

Offline Scadsobees

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Re: Wild Cherrie trees
« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2010, 09:53:21 pm »
Harvey,

I added sugar or crystallized honey to most of my hives too, and they ate it or whatever they do with it, but they did still have honey left,  they'll eat if even if they have stores left.

But we're not done yet...now is when brood rearing kicks into high gear, and they'll be burning through their stores must faster now especially if we get a week of snow which isn't uncommon.

Rick
Rick

Offline doak

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Re: Wild Cherrie trees
« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2010, 10:03:06 pm »
Pollen and nectar :)doak

Offline danno

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Re: Wild Cherrie trees
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2010, 01:14:04 pm »
My bee's have been bringing in pollen for a few days now.  Maples are starting to bud and most likely willows in the river bottoms

 

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