How does the Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis' bloom twice?

[John_KAYS]

So I have been wondering how the Autumn Cherry blooms twice...
Does it grow new buds or does it simply retain buds for the later bloom?

Most cherry trees bloom on last year's buds...so does the Autumn cherry have a special mechanism that can trigger some but not all to bloom???

I am just curious.

Thanks.

 

[John_KAYS]

...that's okay I wasn't really that curious.

 

[monkeylove]

Sorry John I thought everyone knew that. They are magical of course. Lol. No really, not a clue.

 

[oceans]

I'm pretty certain that it's all related to the tree being stressed during the growing season before the fall in which the blooms occur. The stress will set the tree into dormancy, or most likely, allocating primarily to storage.

Because Cherry trees' flowering is based on a wide enough window of adequate temperature, the flowers will form as the plant comes out of this dormancy. If climate presents this window of temperature following the period of stress, I imagine it must also coincide with enough moisture to alleviate the stress, but perhaps without the sunlight that would trigger other hormones or proteins.

Essentially, the plant has to "shut down", and then tricked into thinking it's Spring.

This is all speculation based on what little knowledge I have in this realm. Questions like yours are such that I appreciate more and more.

 

[Treezybreez]

The Autumn Cherries have a contract with the honey bee to bloom twice a year. When the contract expires April 1, 2072 they will go back to blooming once a year. There are a few clauses in the contract that would release the cherries from blooming twice annually such as, late pollination by the bees or if they show up to work with the wrong pollen, or if they violate section B of the International Society of pollinator's (ISP) confidentiality agreement. There has been an ongoing debate as to whether one kneeing pollen is an acceptable practice since it appears to only be half as good as both bee's knees. One kneeing pollen has taken a backseat to a more pressing issue. There has been a popular domestic Queen bee who has been advocating the construction of a wall to keep out africanized bees from pollinating the Autumn Cherries. Much debate over the wall and the Queen bee in question has upset the hive. Will there be enough honey for all? What will become of the national pollen debt? Won't undocumented Africanized bees simply be able to fly over the wall? What of their naturalized pupa? What will happen to the free honey trade?

Happy 1st Treebuzz!

 

[John_KAYS]

The Autumn Cherries have a contract with the honey bee to bloom twice a year. When the contract expires April 1, 2072 they will go back to blooming once a year. There are a few clauses in the contract that would release the cherries from blooming twice annually such as, late pollination by the bees or if they show up to work with the wrong pollen, or if they violate section B of the International Society of pollinator's (ISP) confidentiality agreement. There has been an ongoing debate as to whether one kneeing pollen is an acceptable practice since it appears to only be half as good as both bee's knees. One kneeing pollen has taken a backseat to a more pressing issue. There has been a popular domestic Queen bee who has been advocating the construction of a wall to keep out africanized bees from pollinating the Autumn Cherries. Much debate over the wall and the Queen bee in question has upset the hive. Will there be enough honey for all? What will become of the national pollen debt? Won't undocumented Africanized bees simply be able to fly over the wall? What of their naturalized pupa? What will happen to the free honey trade?

Happy 1st Treebuzz!

Wow, thanks for the thorough response. I'm so glad I asked, because now I know the answer to my question and much, much more ...about bee politics. Who knew...right!

 

[John_KAYS]

I'm pretty certain that it's all related to the tree being stressed during the growing season before the fall in which the blooms occur. The stress will set the tree into dormancy, or most likely, allocating primarily to storage.

Because Cherry trees' flowering is based on a wide enough window of adequate temperature, the flowers will form as the plant comes out of this dormancy. If climate presents this window of temperature following the period of stress, I imagine it must also coincide with enough moisture to alleviate the stress, but perhaps without the sunlight that would trigger other hormones or proteins.

Essentially, the plant has to "shut down", and then tricked into thinking it's Spring.

This is all speculation based on what little knowledge I have in this realm. Questions like yours are such that I appreciate more and more.

So you think the Autumn Cherry was cultivated to be on the edge...the tipping point. Very interesting!

 

[John_KAYS]

I found this article which is interesting, but still doesn't answer what exactly is happening with the buds on the Autumn Cherry. I haven't found anything that explains the 'bud usage' and if it uses a number of its buds in the autumn/winter and saves most for the spring or what. And if so why. It's just fascinating...
Excerpt from article "He added that not all flowering plants were confused. Some, like the Higan cherry and fall-flowering camellias, are blooming within their normal patterns. But for the out-of-season bloomers, the main culprits in their discombobulation are warm soil and air temperatures. "
I think Oceans is right that it is sensitive and stressed so to speak.

I wonder if @KTSmith would have anything interesting to say?

 

[CutHighnLetFly]

The Autumn Cherries have a contract with the honey bee to bloom twice a year. When the contract expires April 1, 2072 they will go back to blooming once a year. There are a few clauses in the contract that would release the cherries from blooming twice annually such as, late pollination by the bees or if they show up to work with the wrong pollen, or if they violate section B of the International Society of pollinator's (ISP) confidentiality agreement. There has been an ongoing debate as to whether one kneeing pollen is an acceptable practice since it appears to only be half as good as both bee's knees. One kneeing pollen has taken a backseat to a more pressing issue. There has been a popular domestic Queen bee who has been advocating the construction of a wall to keep out africanized bees from pollinating the Autumn Cherries. Much debate over the wall and the Queen bee in question has upset the hive. Will there be enough honey for all? What will become of the national pollen debt? Won't undocumented Africanized bees simply be able to fly over the wall? What of their naturalized pupa? What will happen to the free honey trade?

Happy 1st Treebuzz!

I love April 1st, thank you treezy.