Maple Trees are Blooming

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Noticed a lot of small dots on one of the maples in my neighbors' yard. Turns out they're tiny flowers. Here is an example I found on the internet.
http://www.personal.psu.edu/staff/r/a/rad2/MapleFlowers.htm
http://www.treecanada.ca/images/tree_images/large/Red%20Maple%20(Acer%20rubrum)%20Flower2.jpg

Ugly thing and it chooses now of all times of the year to bloom. Today it's 28F out. It looks like it will be blooming at least another week or two so hopefully I can get some pics of something working it.

[KONASDAD]

They've been swelling all week, but haven't bloomed in my yard just yet. Maybe next week or so. Same w/ skunk cabbage which is an early important pollen source around our neck of woods. Very pale yellow pollen, sulphor color.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Skunk_Cabbage

[doak]

My  winged elm are through and the maples are in bloom.
Red Buds look like they will come along soon.
Crank it up. ;)
doak

[reinbeau]

MrILovetheAnts, red maple flowers aren't ugly at all, and our girls depend on those early blooms on the occasional warm day that comes around in early March.  The buds have swollen on ours up here but they haven't opened yet, however, my neighbor's Arnold's Promise witch hazel is in full bloom, and that tree is only about 30' from our hives.  Hopefully if the girls venture out they'll find it, for pollen, at least.

[MrILoveTheAnts]

Maybe ugly was a strong word, let me rephrase. My criticisms with this tree are a mixed. So now it's bare of any leaves and clear for anyone to see it's branches, which are spread out and thinly placed. Actually a very nice natural form for a tree, if only the main trunk wasn't split into 3 or 4 huge stalks. Very airy and wonderful to look at, I even see some caterpillars use it for a host plant. It's a huge tree probably 50 feet tall and all it produces for a flower is some tiny little spud that blends in with the bark. It's only when I happened to be walking next to the thing that I realized they were flowers. And there are so few of them all spread out all over the tree, perhaps it's not healthy?
When compared with other trees such as the Redbud, which often has bright pink blooms bursting out every nook of the tree, it just doesn't compare.
Image of Redbud taken from the Internet (Not Mine)
http://www.kennedyscountrygardens.com/redbud3.jpg

Maples that bloom later in the year though do look better. The contrasting color with the leaves and tendency to produce more flowers helps. Maybe I'm being to quick to judge the current Maples blooming now though.

[qa33010]

   I finally saw some maple starting to bloom last Thursday.  More and more each day and we've even had a couple good flying days.