Plum tree selection help please

[Greenleaves]

Hi all

I am looking at putting a few plum trees at the far end of my plot. The aspect will afford full sun without shading other crops. I want something that is quite compact but giving a good crop.

Any suggestions and when is the best time to buy?

[snakeshack]

Bare root trees best bought after leaf fall through to early spring , in all honesty this is the only time they are available anyway .
You can buy pot grown trees at any time if the year but they are assuredly more expensive and will require a lot of attention to the watering if planted in summer . They are usually pot bound on purchase too. It is recommended that trees are planted in square holes especially in heavy soil, in a round hole the roots tend to spiral round and round. In a square hole they get to the corners and are forced to root out into the surrounding soil


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[Greenleaves]

Thanks Snakeshack

[TrialAndError]

It's all personal preference. My best compact plum tree is Blue Tit on a Pixie rootstock. Six foot high or so , not quite so wide and those plums are truly delicious, a little bit larger than bite sized and perfectly sweet. No disease problems (touch wood), regular cropper, can't fault it all.

[boundtothesoil]

Any suggestions

I know it's boring to suggest Victoria, but it's a pretty reliable cropper in my experience, eats well off the tree, cooks well and jams and freezes well. I also have Czars, Oullin's Golden Gage, Warwickshire Drooper and Opal. None of these crop as well as Victoria for me and often give no crop at all.

[Greenleaves]

Thank you all, leaning towards Victoria

[snakeshack]

I have opal , yet to experience any plums as I only bought it this year.


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[yummersetter]

There are so many delicious plums! Don't grow Victoria, you can buy it, look for something more unique. There is such a range of varieties and flavours - from mirabelles to damsons, via european and japanese plums, pluots, gages, apriums. There are plums that are delicious freshly picked, those that make pies and jams, most freeze well and some are good dried. There are many dozens of varieties that grow well in this country but shops just sell Victoria and maybe two or three others so you only get to taste the rarities by growing them. Of the thirty trees we have here, I'd recommend Japanese plum Satsuma, Kirkes Blue, Mirabelle, Early Transparent gage. Next year I might have a different list as more come into bearing - I'm excited to be about to taste Coe's Golden Drop if all goes well, I read about it twenty years ago and finally bought and planted a tree two years ago that now has half a dozen fruits.

[orangepippin]

Since you are proposing to plant "a few" I think it is worth including Victoria, notwithstanding there are many better varieties around as others have suggested ... but few are as productive, and Victoria is also hard to beat as a cooking plum.

To go with it, I quite like Avalon, Oullins Gage, Early Transparent Gage, and Blue Tit.

[Greenleaves]

Thank you all