When to wassail apple trees?

DigForVictory

It would appear to be a precisely When You Count Twelfth Night issue.

Which means it should have been done yesterday but at a pinch you could today, however the switch to the Gregorian Calendar makes a robust case for 17th Jan & certainly that's nearer what the cider orchard managers have been selling tickets for. (Farm *tourists* - so much simpler than crops or critters.)

I *think* the presence or absence of a Wassail King or Queen, likewise the special feast, can be considered optional for a couple of trees in the garden (although your family & circle of friends may cheerfully disagree on the issue, and by all means adhere to Allotment Rules where appropriate).

Me, I think a slice of toast, a slosh of cider & a verse are however all entirely in order (& for teetotallers, they can substitute cider for whatever they prefer to wash their apple trees in - Bordeaux Mixture does take on an alternative meaning.)

The verse may vary depending on which regional history you consult, when, & just how positive you are feeling:

Here's to thee, old apple tree,
Whence thou mayst bud
And whence thou mayst blow!
And whence thou mayst bear apples enow!
Hats full! Caps full!
Bushel--bushel--sacks full,
And my pockets full too! Huzza!- South Hams of Devon, 1871

Apple-tree, apple-tree,
Bear good fruit,
Or down with your top
And up with your root.-19th century S. Hams.

The slice of toast feeds good spirits, the cider splashes the bark &/or waters the tree roots, the wassail need not be unduly long or tuneful (volume & pitch being largely a matter of taste/company/odds of complaint to council re:Noise)

Finally to confuse matters the poet (and thus questionable gardener) Robert Herrick in his "Ceremonies of Christmas Eve" advises:
Wassail the trees, that they may bear
You many a plum, and many a pear:
For more or less fruits they will bring,
As you do give them wassailing.

I'm not sure When the chap started on the mulled cider, but if he thought wassailing (a) occurred before Christmas & (b) applied equally to plum & pear, then my hopes of a decent apple crop are well & truly gone for a burton.

All advice, verses, dates, protocols & variants on Bordeaux Mix welcome!

Kyrae

Strangely enough I did my first wassailing of my 2 apple trees last year just for a bit of fun.... and they gave me the best crop of apples I've had since I planted them


Hence I have been out again tonight with a bit of cider and toast and did a short sneaky wassailing under the cover of darkness, hoping the neighbours haven't been watching

lostinrates

We tend to be a little flexible about wassailing date. This is partly because we wassail in a particular state of attire that suits a night with low wind/rain combination. .

I also feel that as the garden is a little confused by the dates at the moment it might be prepared to be a little flexible. After all, we have had to ask the trees to be brave about pruning ( nothing fully defoliated), and the 'bird apple' still carries fruit the birds didn't need and the high winds didn't manage to loosen, though the fruit looks very unappetising now!

For example, sometimes we might choose the soltice date, if its an opportune night, this year it was most certainly not. Over the festive break often is.....though I don't know how feeding the trees so fits in much with the commandment about other gods and Gregorian calendar, , and I prefer to do it once everything is pruned up. I have a few more trees to go....this wretched warm winter means timing things has been very difficult but I will be pressing on this weekend, maybe into next as this weekend is cut short. THEN we will wassail.