What's wrong with my plums?

[Bex]

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Hi all

The tree is inherited from last tenant. I was told it's a plum tree, it had lots of blossom and fruit has formed. Trouble is it's all yellow and wrinkled. What's wrong? Any advice welcome.
Thank you


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[WendyC]

Can you get a clearer picture of the fruit? it's got a shadow across it. The foliage looks ok. They seem a funny shape for plums, long and thin, but perhaps that's the variety.

[Bex]

I'll try next time I'm there. There are a few fruit that look normal, green and plum shaped. Maybe it isn't a plum at all, I'm only going on what I was told. My youngest son thought it might be almond 🔮🔮 lol


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[Bex]

are these any better?


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[WendyC]

Yuck! Some naturally shrivel and fall off as the natural process of the tree thinning the crop. Are they mostly like this or mostly ok? Have you cut one open to see whether there are any nasties in there. Sorry not much help.

[Bex]

They are mostly like that. If I can't fix it the tree will have to go. I can't see any nasties and the leaves are mostly ok. There are loads of lady bugs on the tree eating all the aphids.


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[boundtothesoil]

I don't know what the problem is, but today I was thinning the plums on my Czars tree and noticed several fruit showing exactly the same symptoms as in your photo. I've never seen this before in twenty or so years of plum growing. Anyway, I cut open several of the affected fruit and couldn't see any obvious pests inside, although some appear cracked at the end furthest from the stalk. The excessive fleshy, wrinkly growth looks to be the plants response to whatever the cause is, and presumably results from some kind of plant hormone imbalance. I'd remove all the affected fruit as sooner or later they will get a brown rot which can quickly spread to the normal fruit.

I've just had a look on the web and reckon that the problem is 'Plum Pocket', a fungal disease related to peach leaf curl/blister and not meant to be common - see link below:
http://ipm.illinois.edu/diseases/rpds/805.pdf

[Bex]

Wow thank you. I've deffo got plum pocket.


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[yummersetter]

I have one deformed plum like Bex, I haven't cut it yet, but its hard and leathery. Nothing I've seen before, but it was on a tree about 20ft from four peaches with peach leaf curl. Could this be a new disease in the UK, as the link is to a US site?

[boundtothesoil]

Could this be a new disease in the UK, as the link is to a US site?

Looks as though this disease is recognised in the UK as there is an RHS link on it
Pocket plum/RHS Gardening
Like you, I've never seen it before this year. I've now found around twenty infected fruitlets on a mature Czars tree but none, so far, on a Victoria next to it. Both have set unusually large numbers of fruit. Maybe, the early season has something to do with it.

[Nicos]

^^^^^
Following that link, it says...

"The disease can be controlled by thoroughly removing infected branches, witches’ brooms and fruit before spores are produced"

what does it it mean by witches' broom?
I've never heard that phrase before.

[Bigmallly]

what does it it mean by witches' broom?
I've never heard that phrase before.

Neither have I............

Witch's broom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Nicos]

Oh gosh..that's interesting!
I've probably seen them and thought they were rook's nests maybe?

I've also never heard of/ seen pocket plum before either

Doesn't look good does it?

[Bigmallly]

The witch's broom thing sounds a bit yankee to me from what I read. I'd be a bit freaked out if a squirrel flew by...........

[ancee]

I've seen those witches brooms always on trees as I whizz pass on the motorway, and I too, thought they were birds nests! Just goes to show, that I know nothing really!!