Greenspire Linden Spring Buds - April/May 2021

 I titled this post April/May because I'm posting it in May, but I took this photo in April of 2021.  April 24th, to be precise.  Those are the beautiful, exciting tree buds of one of our espaliered Greenspire Linden trees that are ready to burst open.  I posted a photo of these very same buds that were setting last Fall.  I planted these trees back in our first Summer here (2017) and set up the wire system that year, too.  

I posted a similar photo EXACTLY one year ago today (May 4, 2020) with the buds showing a similar green and pink hue.  

Last Summer - in year four of training (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020), I made the decision about the final form and pruned off a bunch of the limbs to leave just a four-tiered horizontal cordon espalier.  

Also, last year this tree was infested with Yellow Jackets that were feasting on an aphid infestation.  Before all the leaves fell, I applied in two rounds some insecticide on the limbs in the hopes that I killed off any of the remaining aphids and their larvae.  I'm planning on keeping a closer eye on these Lindens and I'm going to try to get a systemic insecticide put in the ground in the next few days to get ahead of the aphids.