what type of plum?

[jcr100]

Hello everyone, I've just joined your site to see whether you can help us identify our heavily laden plum tree please?
the fruits are small, about a 50p piece size and purple (not reddy or yellowy - def purple!) they really need harvesting but before we hand them out to friends and neighbours we'd like to know whether they are suitable for eating as fruit or just cooking please?
when we cut into them they are a greeny colour?
can anyone help?

[Glutton4...]

Hello, and welcome to the Madhouse!

Any chance of a picture?

Of the Plums.

[jcr100]

Yes, here u go! From the left is the most ripened, they started off like the two in the middle and the insides are shown too. They have a stone.
Thank u!

Oh hang on, can't work out how to- I'll keep trying!

[Glutton4...]

If they are dark, I would guess at Damsons. Do a g**gle search and see if they look similar.

[PotGardener]

Hi jcr,
the plums you are describing is from a tree Marjories Seedlings. I have the same fruit from my plum tree. i have had my tree for three years now and always get a really good crop, but they never grow any bigger which is a shame. They are edible, but not as sweet or juicy as other varieties, and the green inner can be a bit off-putting. I am going to try cooking them this year as we have too many to eat, thought I'd try a plum crumble!

Hope this helps.

[binley100]

I have marjories seedling ...I've had the tree for years, they are an eating variety but are mainly for cooking. They freeze perfectly well, and are great in plum jam and plum gin as well. Mine come in various sizes and I do get them bigger than a 50p that sounds very small more like damsons .

[BroadRipple]

can I join in the plumfest? OK so I've unwisely bought a discounted plum tree from the GC...and a huuuge pot to put it in. It's a Cambridge Gage, bit random I know, and in flagrant contravention of all advice it's a bit of a weird shape, long and thin, but all books recommend different things i.e. prune, don't prune, etc. etc. Can anyone give me some advice about pruning and other care for it as I'm a complete ignoramus plum-wise and you are all SO WISE. Grovel.
Please? Hat-doffs and forelock-tugging...

[chris]

Well, how do you want to grow it? Do you want it trained to a shape, or do you want it to be a 'tree tree'?

[BroadRipple]

well my espaliered apple attempts completely failed so not that...in a freestanding i.e. not against a wall pot, so I suppose as something that would suit that, and not be difficult to maintain...

[chris]

What rootstock is it on? St. JA?

Check this out: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/...e.aspx?pid=339

[BroadRipple]

YEs it's St Julien - and already pretty tall (2yrs old) with a few spindly branches towards the top. I know, eye-roll etc, but I took pity on it.

[gojiberry]

Stone fruit are not recommended for pruning and training and best left to grow into an ordinary shape tree. However I have seen plums peaches and cherries grown successfully as espaliers.

Ian

[Aisles]

You don't want to prune them if it's going to rain within 3 days of pruning reason for this is plums are prone to roting on the new cuts if they get soaked in water.

Watch out for suckers growing out the bottom of the trunk from the root stock cut them out every year at the base.

I get them every year on my victoria plum and my green gage. The greengage one has nastie sharp like thorns on the suckers the longer you allow them to grown as well.

[binley100]

My plum tree is sort of fan trained.....I prune it in August . If I didn't it would be totally out of hand by now and we'd need a steeplejack (or pet monkey) to pick the fruit.

[northepaul]

St Julien A is not the best rootstock for a pot, you might need to keep repotting it into bigger ones....