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FLIMBY: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

The Central Valley has moved into the fluffy-tree period

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED MAR 3, 2026

The miniature peach variety called Honey Babe sports bright pink blooms for a couple of weeks. Kathy Morrison

This is another installment in our Flowers in My Back Yard series, devoted to everything that blooms.

Is there anything prettier this time of year than a fruit tree in full bloom?

The orchards of almond trees in the Capay and San Joaquin valleys kick off the show in February, soon followed throughout the Central Valley by apricots, plums and other stone fruit, the navel orange trees, apples, pears and cherries. Warm weather can speed things up, but spring rains, freezes or winds can play havoc with a tree's crop, knocking off or destroying blossoms before pollination.

Whether the blooming trees are in roadside orchards or in a home garden, they are a joyful site.

This series is focused on flowers, not about growing fruit, but it's good to know some things about fruit tree blossoms:

-- Flowers on deciduous fruit trees start forming as buds the previous late spring and summer. Whatever was going on with a tree last June and July can affect the size and vigor of the bloom. The summer of 2025 was a moderate one, so trees in the Sacramento area likely weren't as stressed as in 2024, which had a three-week extreme heat wave. Adequate water and fertilizer also are part of this summer-before scenario.

-- If the tree had a heavy fruit set the year before, it could be producing fewer blossoms this year, as a way to recover. Orange trees are famous for this alternate bearing cycle, but it also shows up in other fruit trees.

-- Young blooming branches can be harvested for floral arrangements, in concert with pruning/shaping the tree. Fruit trees usually produce many more blossoms than needed for fruit, so losing a few on a mature tree shouldn't cut into the eventual crop. Watch the timing, however, since the flowers typically are fully open for less than two weeks. Treat the pruned branches like any other flower by removing any foliage that will be below the water line in the vase. (For more information on training and pruning a deciduous fruit tree, open this link on the Sacramento County master gardeners' website and scroll down to publication "ANR 8057" under External Resources.)

-- Encourage pollinators by growing other flowering plants (especially California natives) near the fruit trees. Some types of fruit trees are self-pollinating, but even these can benefit from having bees and other insects visiting their flowers and moving pollen around. (The UC Davis Arboretum compiled this excellent list of 10 plants that support native bees.)

-- If you have fruit trees in your back yard, take plenty of flower photos! The blossom period is fleeting and that fluffy beauty will be gone before you know it.

Note to fruit tree fans: The new second edition of "The Home Orchard: Growing Your Own Deciduous Fruit and Nut Trees" is now available through the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources online catalog. It's an expanded and revised version of a reference every California master gardener learns to use.

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Keywords:

Flowers in My Back Yard FLIMBY flowers blooms pollinators bees orchards fruit trees stone fruit citrus almonds pruning winter March Sacramento gardening

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

Aug. 18: Pollinators adore scabiosa, aka pincushion flower

Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact

Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower

July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show

July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)

July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy

July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies

June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden

June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners

June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)

June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself

June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude

May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?

May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs

May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power

May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens

May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 16

During this break in the heat, feed your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.

* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.

* Plant potatoes.

* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.

* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.

* Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s still small.

* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.

* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Give them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.

* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.

* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.

* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.

* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.

* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.

* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.

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