Apple blossom needs pollinators

1st May 2022

Unlike pears, plums or cherries, very few apples are self fertile, so fruit set depends on pollinators being able to fly. This means that poor apple crops can be due to frosts just as blossom opens, or to strong winds and rain which prevent bees from working. Fortunately different apple cultivars come into flower gradually over a month or so, so there is a chance of some being pollinated in between spells of bad weather.