Plum crazy!

[bobbin]

Hi all.
I've a 3yr old "dwarf plum tree" on my allotment. I can't recall having pruned it and it seemed to get very tall for a dwarf variety. For the last two years pigeons stripped it of new foliage as soon as it appeared! so not much chance of fruit. I was going to dig it up yesterday but it's had a stay of execution as it has produced ONE plum! But the taste was magnificent! It's a damson.
Can anyone advise about pruning and how on earth can I protect it from pigeons when I can't reach the top branches. I've had to remove a substantial piece of branching from below the graft line which thinned it out quite a lot and a few branches that I kept getting caught up up on.

[BUFFS]

Hi all.
I've a 3yr old "dwarf plum tree" on my allotment. I can't recall having pruned it and it seemed to get very tall for a dwarf variety. For the last two years pigeons stripped it of new foliage as soon as it appeared! so not much chance of fruit. I was going to dig it up yesterday but it's had a stay of execution as it has produced ONE plum! But the taste was magnificent! It's a damson.
Can anyone advise about pruning and how on earth can I protect it from pigeons when I can't reach the top branches. I've had to remove a substantial piece of branching from below the graft line which thinned it out quite a lot and a few branches that I kept getting caught up up on.

I haven't pruned mine yet after 3 yrs in the ground, just letting it form its branch structure and should start to get fruit next year, the lowest branch on mine is about 4ft above the soil so well clear of the graft, as for the pigeons I love them in a pie, payback time...

[bobbin]

Thanks Buffs. The pies a non starter as I don't eat meat!
My tree is so tall for a dwarf and the top branch is about 14ft high! I was told to cut it down a bit which is a cheek as there are much bigger more established ones on other plots. I just keep thinking about that utterly delicious single plum and I'm put off cutting the tree down.

[bramble]

I have to confess to cutting lumps from my plum tree every year after i harvest the fruit and it does'nt seem to affect the production. Mind you, it is'nt a named variety so i always feel if i loose it it will have paid for itself many times over.
Last year i harvested 52 lbs of fruit from it and i will be picking this years fruit today as they look very ripe.

[BUFFS]

my older tree got a bit too tall and I lopped it to about 3ft and trained the new growth sideways, you lose the crop for a bit but it was soon outstripping its previous yield, alas we moved a couple of years later so I have bought a young tree to bring on, it has been years since I have had damson pie and home made custard or ice cream mmmmmmmm (come on you little tree GROWWWWWWWWW..

on a different track, the seedling (Victoria plum x greengage) I have been growing on has now fruited, the fruit looks like greengage, the size of medium damsons and a good sweet taste, so I will now pot it on, it has formed a standard 4ft to the branch break and about 9/10 branches growing out at about 45deg, all naturally, no training, so I am very happy with this hybrid, I may plant it into the garden as it has such a good shape and I look forward to a bigger crop next year.....

[Jungle Jane]

It might be a bit cold & wet to prune it now,best done in the summer because of silver leaf disease. I would cut it down to a manageable size,I think people might have been trying to help maybe,saying to cut it down a bit,it will make it easier for you in the long run. You won't lose out at all,the tree will have energy to fill out. Blood fish & bone or similar will help feed it.

[BUFFS]

It might be a bit cold & wet to prune it now,best done in the summer because of silver leaf disease. I would cut it down to a manageable size,I think people might have been trying to help maybe,saying to cut it down a bit,it will make it easier for you in the long run. You won't lose out at all,the tree will have energy to fill out. Blood fish & bone or similar will help feed it.

I cut mine as long as the leaves haven't started dropping, and as we are one of the wettest areas of the uk I would have thought I would have had problems by now, 15yrs on and no problems, I don't think there are enough fruit trees round here for the silver leaf fungus to survive for long... hopefully..