Plum tree help

[clw35]

Hi everyone
I planted a plum tree last year and never really bothered with it much except to weed round it every now and again- had a wee poke at it yesterday afternoon and I think it might have died scraped a bit of bark off and is white inside- should be greenish right??!
Sorry I'm new to trees so not 100% on what to expect
It appears to have taken root well though (maybe got too much water with the amount of rain we had last year!)
But I'm guessing that it's dead and not just dormant or anything? And so I should dig it up and go get a new one!!
Thanks

[Capsid]

Are there any buds on it? It should be starting to flower now.

[FB.]

I would wait a bit longer.
Do the branches look a bit wrinked?
Do the twigs bend, or do they snap?
Can you take some close-up pictures?

In most areas and with most varieties of fruit, you can't just bung 'em in ordinary garden soil and leave them in their first year.
They often suffer transplant shock and definitely won't be strong enough to bear a good crop until they've had a season or two to grow some good roots to power the tree.
Garden soil is often much less fertile than people assume; often farmers don't sell their best land for building developments, garden soil is often full of builders rubble and many gardeners add no nutrients at all to their soil, which gradually declines in fertility. A few people are lucky and have deep, fertile soil.

Only vigorous-rootstocked varieties are likely to cope when just chucked in a hole and left to get on with it.
You don't mention the rootstock, but I guess it's a dwarf and they really don't cope well with being abandoned. It may also be that your tree doesn't like your soil (you haven't mentioned the soil).

[clw35]

Thanks
I really shouldn't have called it a tree- more a sprig??! Sorry not good on terminology!
My uncle actually gave it too me- he got it from nursery I believe along with some peach ones but this had a plum tag and he didn't want plum!
Knew I couldn't really leave it lying round so dug a hole in a sheltered spot put it in and put some FYM round it( prob what killed it knowing me!)
Our soil is sandy loam with good nutrient fertility and pH
Will see if I can take a pic of it!

[clw35]

Well got a pic but can't get it uploaded but also tried to bend a wee branch and it snapped off so definitely dead!!
Guessed as much anyway so looks like its coming out!
Any tips on what type of tree to go for would be greatly appreciated- it will be near to two apple trees and were very near the coast so would need to be hardy enough to withstand the winds laden with salt that we get!!
Also what would I call it? Tree/sprig/sapling? It comes up to about my waist and I'm 5'6"... So approx 35" tall!!
Sorry for such stupid questions!
Thanks

[Ananke]

I planted a plum tree last year too, re-sited it back in January and it has flowers on it now. I'd leave it a while yet though.

Good luck.

[Sanjo]

.Sorry for such stupid questions!
Thanks

No question is stupid if you don't know the answer. Welcome to the Vine. Ask away, everyone is very friendly. I'm sure there'll be more answers once everyone is in from their gardens today!

[veggiechicken]

I'd leave it a while longer. Some of my trees are showing very little signs of new growth yet. If it was only a wee twig that you snapped off the ends can die back anyway.

[starloc]

I would leave it much longer before deciding its dead

Last year , about this time i bought a fully dormant cherry plum tree, planted it and it did nothing, no leaves, no shoots, no buds, at all all year , i had a scrape at it and even the trunk seemed brown and dry under the bark

A few weeks ago i decided to pull it out and when i went to it it has many new branches all the way up the trunk, not from the rootstock but from the `dead` trunk

Now it looks great , and i was sure it was dead

Another , i have a 6 year old 3 foot lemon tree that died 2 years ago from major dose of spidermites , it had no signs of life at all, it was brown inside the branches and all shriveled , i dumped it in the corner and ignored it , about 6 weeks ago its grown massive shoots from its rootstock about half way up the stump , its now 2 foot tall with loads of branches and perfect for grafting when its got a bit more strength