Row on left is Wood Colony, looking at their South facing side

Row on right is Wood Colony, looking at their North facing side

North versus South

The row on the left side of this photograph is the Wood Colony variety.  In this orchard the rows run East/West, the picture is looking East, so we are seeing the South side of the Wood Colony trees. Quite a few blossoms are open.

 The same row is now on the right side of the picture so we are seeing the North side of the same Wood Colony row.  Because there is less radiant heat from the sun on the North side of the trees, there are fewer blossoms open here. Several factors cause the blossoms to open at different times and this gives the bees more time to (hopefully) visit every blossom.

Also in this picture, we can see that the mummies and other litter in the orchard (mostly old leaves) have been swept to the middles.  We will soon mow these to further destroy the mummies and the Navel Orange Worm that may be residing in them.