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Sometimes you need to be the "bee"

If you own a peach, apricot, or nectarine tree or have a greenhouse, there are times when you will need to be the "bee".


So here's the thing. I have a peach tree and what I think is a nectarine tree (it was labeled as an apricot tree from Home Depot, flowered at two different times with different coloured flowers and gave me two nectarines and no apricots the first year I planted it).


The only two nectarines my tree has ever produced in the last 3 years. They were so tasty!


The apricot/nectarine tree is out in the yard, had an abundance of flowers last year and gave me no fruit. Needless to say, I was beyond disappointed and determined to change that outcome this year.

My apricot/nectarine tree is in full bloom this Spring. If even half the flowers pollinate, that will be an amazing crop for such a young tree! Fingers crossed that this year will yield some fruit.


My peach tree is very old and is espaliered against the east side of my house where it gets the warmth of the sun off of the stucco. Some years, I get tonnes of peaches. Other years, I get a handful of huge peaches that are the tastiest things you have ever eaten.


Want to enjoy home-grown fruit? This is where plant sex comes in and why you need to be the "bee" sometimes. Peach, nectarine, and apricot trees are self-fertilizing meaning that they don't need another tree to produce fruit. Great in theory, but they bloom way before there are any bees out. Unless the winds blow in the right direction, these flowers need our help to fertilize them. Hence, plant sex.


When I was doing my undergrad at the University of Victoria, I took a lot of botany classes for my Science concentration. I learned about the anatomy of plants, how they grew, and even saw what they looked like under the microscope. I got decent grades but never once did I plant or grow a plant as a part of my course work. Dissect them? Sure. Grow them? Never! It still seems surreal to me. Where that course work did help me was that I can now identify plant parts (male anthers and female stigma/pistil).




In plants that self-fertilize, the flower's pollen from the anthers reaches its stigma. It doesn't require a bee to cross-pollinate. Bees certainly help as does a good wind but on windless, beeless days, flowers can use a little help to pollinate.


These are my peach blossoms. The stigma (red arrows) and anthers (blue arrows). Because the stigma sticks out further than the anthers unless there is a way for the anthers to move their pollen to the stigma, the flower will be unfertilized and there will be no resulting fruit.

So, how can I help ensure that I have at least some fruit from my wonderful trees? You need to be the "bee". I use a soft-bristled paintbrush (some people use a cotton swab) and delicately coat it with pollen from the anthers and then ensure that I brush it up against the stigma. The stigma is sticky and the pollen will stick to it once it has made contact. The key is to not damage the stigma or the pollen will not travel down the style and fertilize the ovules (potential seeds).


I have done this repeatedly with my peach blossoms over the years and have now done it with my apricot/nectarine tree. I am so looking forward to seeing what fruit will come from my labour.


If you own a greenhouse or are looking to grow plants that bear fruit (tomatoes or otherwise), you will need to help the pollination process along as well. In greenhouses and your house, you don't typically have pollinators (bees) so you have to be the "bee". Some people use fans in their greenhouses to help blow the pollen around. Others say that using an old electric toothbrush (the kind that vibrates) held against the branches works wonders to help pollination. Either way, without your help, you will get little to no fruit or veggies from your flowering plants.


Lessons learned:

  • Even self-pollinating plants need help to fertilize and bear fruit

  • Sometimes you need to be the "bee"

  • A soft paintbrush, cotton swab, or vibrating toothbrush can aid the pollination process

  • The best fruit is always ones you helped to create and grow yourself.

Find joy in the process and the harvest that will come.


Happy gardening!




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