Plum Tree Choice

[chrisguk]

So im permitted to plant a nice big plum tree in the back garden. Ive heard that plums favour clay soils (FB?), and the plot of land in question has nothing but the heaviest and meanest of clays.

It is viable to plant a plum, right?

If the answer is a yes, then should i acquire a stronger/more vigourous rootstock?

And lastly (for now), can anyone recommend any good varieties? All i ever hear about is Victoria - although thats probably because they are easy to cultivate and thus supply to the masses.

[zazen999]

Can I interject and recommend a Damson....sort of a plum.

These are springer's swingers so to speak...King of the Damsons - a wonderful damson - sweet and juicy and completely knocks the socks off of any plums I've eaten from the tree....we had a taste test and these came out over and above all the other plums and damsons...

And available here

[vicky]

And just to be difficult I prefer a Greengage - much more intense, spicy, aromatic fruitiness than a plum!

[WrexTheDragon]

Damson's for me everytime.

[northepaul]

Ughh I love both greengages and damsons!!! You should get one of each, Chris!!

Though if you get a hardy damson (I have shropshire, though like the look of the king one Zaz....if only I had room!! ) on st julien A rootstock you should be ok. I have very heavy clay acidic soil and mine are doing well, (plus mine is in the shade too! Poor things!)

If you want an eating plum, not a greengage - which are sublimely beautiful to eat when ripe btw - then I always fancied a czar.

[Mell]

Syston white is nice tooo...

You can have all of these & more just graft any extras on as time goes by

[chrisguk]

Syston white is nice tooo...

You can have all of these & more just graft any extras on as time goes by

Haha my grafting isnt up to standards, luckily only 3-4 months till my next bout of practice!

As for Damsons, ive heard they dont cope well in heavy clay soils (although they are grown on the same rootstocks as ordinary plums), and gages are apparently high maintenance!

What i like about plums is their ability to be pretty low maintenance while providing an abundance of fruit for the family, preferably very sweet and juicy!

[Mell]

Well grafts can only fail & that isn't the end of the world !

Why are gages high maintaince ? I don't grow them but grafted some on one of my plums, but the tree/bush they came from seemed happy enough in its neglect

[chrisguk]

Well grafts can only fail & that isn't the end of the world !

Why are gages high maintaince ? I don't grow them but grafted some on one of my plums, but the tree/bush they came from seemed happy enough in its neglect

Ive heard they are very susceptible to disease - but im totally unsure, damsons or gages have never been in such a spotlight

[Mell]

There seem to be plums & gages all over the place here ! I'm sure they self set in my garden, new trees seem to spring up all over the place. Same with my friends farm. Shame I'm not a huge fan of plum, they make poor wine, I don't eat jam so far all I like from them is plum sauce & cake lol

But certainly any I've seen seem easy to keep, including gages although I'm definatly not a plum/gage/damson expert !

[Mell]

Only don't do is don't prune unless it is in vigerous growth. However, graft in the winter, I smothered it with lots of wound sealer

[hailtryfan]

As for Damsons, ive heard they dont cope well in heavy clay soils (although they are grown on the same rootstocks as ordinary plums)

The advice online regarding damsons and clay soils seems to be very contradictory.

I had a peep because I used to have a huge damson tree in my garden which had very heavy clay soil. I also lived in another house with clay soil where my neighbours damson was extremely vigourous and was always sending runners up my side of the fence

In my experience damsons grow very well. Indeed, my dad resorted to building a garage on top of one because he was fed up with trying to kill it.

[Loudbarker1]

If you only have room for one tree I'd go for a greengage too. You could try Oulin's Golden Gage (self fertile also good for both cooking and eating - I speak from experience - they are fabulous bottled) See links below.

I have read about a "Red Gage" or Wine gage somewhere which sounded delicious, but I can't find any online link.

As for clay I am sure this can be dealt with by very through preparation.




Gage - Oullins Gage - tasting notes, where to buy trees

Gage 'Oullins Golden Gage')

You may find this site helpful: it appears to be run a a plum enthusiast: Plums, Gages, Damsons, Mirabelles - tasting, identification, trees for sale

[chrisguk]

Thanks for all the comments guys; weve ended up getting tomorrow off work, so im going to pop out and buy as many different varieties of plums/gages/damsons (if the latter 2 are available!) and see which i prefer.

All information seems to be contradictory with regards to growth potential in clay! Can never get a straight answer, only solution is to take the plunge and trial for my self

I think i will end up ordering from blackoor nursuries, ive used them before and honestly cant fault them!

[zazen999]

Chris - they are out of season in the UK now so anything you buy will be from warmer regions and will have travelled a long way!