Very late. For many years, the green outer husk has started splitting on 1st April, almost to the day. Last year they were a little late, but this year they've only started splitting in the last few days, nearly a month late.
It's been quite wet the last few months, but I don't remember it having this sort of impact in the past. Compared to last year, there's a good crop of nuts, and they're larger than usual - to the extent the top branches are bending over under the weight and breaking. Last year was really bad, with next to no rain.
Could the delayed ripening be an indicator of some sort of global cooling?
