hey honey bee, photo by ashley.justine.

On our Leelanau.com web site, we get a lot of requests about when the cherry blossoms will be out. Almost every year, it’s the second week of May. In 2010, however, the warm weather and sunshine have everything well in advance of normal, with cherry blossoms beginning right now! The April 13 report from the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station says:

Pears are at green cluster, and apples are at early tight cluster here at the NWMHRS. Montmorency trees are at early bud burst, and Balatons are at bud burst. There is some variation in different sweet cherry cultivars: bud burst in Hedelfingen, late bud burst in Golds, and early white bud in Napoleon. We expect to be in bloom in sweet cherries by the weekend, and growers are placing bees into sweet cherry blocks at this time. Chardonnay vines at the station are at early bud swell, plums are at green cluster, and apricots are at first bloom.

The blossoms are so far in advance that Leelanau County’s annual Cherry Blossom Tour has been canceled for 2010! If things progress with no killing frost and a normal summer in terms of temperature and sunshine, 2010 could be an amazing year for fruit in Michigan!

Check it out bigger or Ashley’s Spring Fever set (slideshow).