This multitrack guzheng piece was created and recorded yesterday after spotting a rare fall blossom of the crabapple tree in my front yard (photo below). This is the first time for me to see this tree flowering in later summer / early fall since I moved to this house in Nashville several years ago. Crabapple usually blossom in bright pink in early April for about two weeks. I had to look it up to get an answer of this strange phenomenon:
From an article called “What causes flowers to bloom in the fall” published on Yale Climate Connections:
‘ “According to our current understanding, the process of overcoming winter dormancy is also related to stress, and possibly summer drought is able to evoke a similar response,” said Eike Ludeling, a researcher at the Institute of Crop Sciences and Resource Conservation at the University of Bonn in Germany.
Dan Stern, the director of horticulture at the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill, said that cherry trees also bloom occasionally in the fall. “We frequently see cherry trees throw open some flowers when a warm spell follows our first real cold snap.” Sometimes, an unusual environmental factor can cause plants to bloom out of season.’
In the last two weeks, Nashville has been extraordinarily hot and dry, alongside with reports about record breaking heat waves all over the world. It is rather troubling to see the crabapple tree reacting in front of my eyes — lonely pink blooms on the nearly-bare branches.
Wu Fei 吴非
Wufeimusic.com
