Frequently asked questions

We use three stages: A — Start of Flowering (10–30% of flowers open), B — Peak Flowering (most flowers fully open, typically the most visually striking point of the season), and C — End of Flowering (petals beginning to fall, most flowers past their best). If in doubt between two stages, pick the one that best describes what you see on the day you're recording — and remember you can submit multiple records for the same tree as it progresses through the season.

Yes — and we actively encourage it. Submitting a record at each stage (A, B and C) for the same tree gives us the most complete picture of how long flowering lasts. Each stage should be submitted as a separate record.

Absolutely. Any fruit tree you can observe is fair game — garden trees, allotment trees, orchard trees, trees in parks or on roadsides. The only requirement is that you have legitimate access to the area; please do not trespass to record a tree.

Yes — if you have a photo with a date attached (most smartphone photos are automatically dated), you can submit a record using that date. Just enter the date of the photo rather than today's date in the form.

Yes. Select Unknown from the variety dropdown. A record with an unknown variety is still scientifically useful — the flowering date, location and stage are all valuable data even without a variety name.

No. FruitWatch is entirely open — no account, no login, no registration required. Just fill in the form and submit.

No personally identifiable information is collected. The form asks for tree location (via a map pin), fruit type, variety, and flowering stage. No name, email address or contact details are requested or stored.

All submitted records are publicly visible on the FruitWatch results map and available to researchers. No personal details are attached to any record. The public map is also limited to a maximum zoom level, meaning individual properties cannot be identified from the map display.

FruitWatch data is used to study how the timing of fruit tree flowering is changing over time, and what that means for pollinators, frost risk, and fruit production. It contributes to peer-reviewed research at the University of Reading and is shared with the wider research community via open data repositories.

Yes — FruitWatch data contributed to a peer-reviewed paper published in Horticulture Research in 2024. Further publications are in preparation.

Yes — FruitWatch data is openly available for research purposes. Use the Request the data link on the Results page to submit a data request, and we'll be in touch.

Select Other and type the variety name in the free-text box that appears. We review unlisted varieties weekly and add commonly submitted ones to the main list. Your record will still appear in the data, though it may take a little longer to show on the public map while we review it.

Unfortunately it isn't currently possible to edit a submitted record directly. If you notice a significant error (wrong species, wrong date), please contact us at fruitwatch@reading.ac.uk with as much detail as possible and we can correct it manually.

Records from the main variety list appear on the map immediately. If you selected Other and entered a variety name manually, your record will appear once we have reviewed and added that variety to the list — this happens weekly. Records with Unknown variety also appear on the map straight away.