Budbreak!

The little 'splits' I described were in fact the beginnings of bud swell. The buds expanded and now budbreak has ocurred. Tiny leaves can be seen protruding from each node.







Interestingly, due to the extremely unseasonably warm weather, the buds broke almost exactly a month before last year. Last year's pictures of budbreak were on April 24th, while this year, they are March 22. Also to note, the seedless Concord's buds are about a day later than the Concord's. It's not a real difference, but that slight difference in genetics is enough to influence the budbreak by a day!