Victoria plums

[Palustris]

There are about 100 pounds here, half the tree!

[Alison]

We don't grow plums but loads of people that do round here have been getting bumper crops - have been trading them for our cucumbers!

[NOG]

I have one plum tree and 5 damson trees....strangly the side of the plum tree near to the path had no plums on it the oher side had masses.

The Damsons have been great. Big and loads of them.

[Palustris]

We have a Damson hedge on the front of the garden and a copse of Damson trees at the back. We normally weight the crop in cwts. They are going to be early this year,which is a problem as we usually dispose of them to gardening friends at the first club meeting in mid September.
We also have a Wild plum hedge and there are greengages in it too. All have cropped well this year.

[shirlthegirl43]

Wonderful pics!

I planted a plum and a golden gage tree this year, no fruit on either. How old do they have to be before they fruit? Each tree is around 5 foot tall.

[Headfry]

what is the difference between a wild plum, a bullace and a damson....
can any one help please?

[Palustris]

With any luck Shirl, you should get some fruit next year, dpending on the weather, the bees and anything else which affects fruitng.
Headfry, that is a very hard question to answer. OUR wild plums are as close to a cultivated variety as you can get. They are only wild because they are part of the hedge rather than planted. Damsons are a small dark purple variety of plum. Bullace are slightly larger than a sloe and often bitter fruit .
Bullace is Prunus communis, var. Insitita. Damson is the same name.
They are all crosses from Blackthorn (Sloe) and Cherry Plum,Prunus cerasifera.

[terrier]

what is the difference between a wild plum, a bullace and a damson....
can any one help please?

Hi Headfry, we have all three in our garden. The damsons are the smallest and quite tart unless very ripe. The bullaces (Denbigh plums or damsones) are almost as sweet as plums but smaller. I've just realised you said 'wild' plums, we ain't got them so I can't describe them!

[terrier]

Pulustris, all those Victoria plums look very green. Is this the time to harvest them? I usually wait until they darken?

[Palustris]

Trick of the camera, but they are not fully ripe. We had no choice really as the branches had cracked under the weight. We usually pick them as soon as they begin to change colour and they have always ripened off nicely in storage. It also stops the birds, wasps etc. and reduces the attack of brown rot.

[terrier]

Trick of the camera, but they are not fully ripe. We had no choice really as the branches had cracked under the weight. We usually pick them as soon as they begin to change colour and they have always ripened off nicely in storage. It also stops the birds, wasps etc. and reduces the attack of brown rot.

Instead of ripening this year as usual,they are just going a rotton brown and covered in mould. I think if the rain stays off long enough, I'll take whats left off the tree romorrow. Trouble is the bullaces and damsons are going the same way.BTW, how do you store the plums to ripen?

[rustylady]

My Victoria Plum is propped up with brooms at the mo. Picked my first ripe fruit today and ate it straight off the tree - unbeatable!! I know you can pick them early and ripen indoors, but the flavour isn't as good. Loads of fruit to come. Brown rot not as bad this year as last, mind you I have been very good this year and regularly picked over developing fruit, taking out the little ones and the overcrowded ones. I'm lucky I suppose, My Victoria is not too tall and I can reach most of her from the stepladders.

[Palustris]

We are fortunate to have a large amount of shed space, so they sit in boxes in the Workshed.
Rustylady, you must have far better taste buds than us, we find no difference in taste between the ones off the tree and the ones ripened indoors. If we left them on the tree, we would probably only get a very small crop though, the birds would have them all in no time.

[Hazel at the Hill]

Sorry to hi-jack your thread, Paulustris, but I wonder if you can help me with a victoria plum prob?

Utterly bumper crop this year on my small tree - fruits are now turning and I've picked two or three to eat - yum yum yum!

HOWEVER the one (outwardly perfect) plum that I picked this morning - took bite - exposed small WORM - euwwww!

So is there anyway to tell if there is a WORM in your plums, or should I just exercise caution when eating.....?

[Palustris]

Unless there is a hole in the skin, then no there is no way to tell. Be glad it was a whole worm and not half a one! Personally I always carry my gardening knife and use it to half the plums before eating. The presence of a worm does not alter the edibility of the rest of the plum by the way.
So next spring treat yourself to a Plum moth pheromone trap and avoid the problem altogether!
To add to the ripening off the tree thing. I will say that the ones in the picture are less ripe than we would normally pick them and that the ones at the bottom of the trays are more purple than the ones you can see.