plum leaves curling!

[Derbydal]

hi iv'e got something going on with the leaves on my plum tree they are curling up ,i found a caterpilar in one and what looks like aphids in others, any advice on how to get rid would be much apreciated ! thanks in advance .atb Dal

[nickdub]

hi iv'e got something going on with the leaves on my plum tree they are curling up ,i found a caterpilar in one and what looks like aphids in others, any advice on how to get rid would be much apreciated ! thanks in advance .atb Dal

Aphids are likely to be most of the problem - if its not many, you can use your finger and thumb to squish them and/or pick of the affected leaves. If its a larger problem a bit of soap in water put on with a brush then sprayed off with water from a hose ought to do the trick.

[Guest]

If it is just the leaves at the tips of branches you could just nip them off and dispose of them. I have and still leave mine (do nothing) just to get on with it. You will find bees, wasps and earwigs will come in and do their thing and that will be it for the blackfly for another year. If you feel the tree is weak to start off with then do what you can, but if it seems healthy let it be IMO

[Philthy]

I've been told I'm allowed to get another fruit tree (have a KOR apple so far), but only so long as it's a plum! Hmm Don't really like plums myself so never taken an interest in them. But it'll be a new thing to try growing so I'm happy just with that
Do you know what variety you've got, Dal, and would you recommend it?
Anything particularly to look for buying a plum tree or does the standard advice just apply?
Are they self-fertile?

[Guest]

Victoria is prone to canker but for some reason is still a common variety. Marjories Seedling is nice but is a variety often found shops. It might be worth considering a gage (Cambridge or Reine Claude). Much sweeter and they seem to have disappeared from shops and markets. I don't know much about other varieties. The ones mention are partly to completely self fertile, but will always benefit from a partner.

https://www.orangepippin.com/plums/r

[Derbydal]

Phil I don't know it came with the plot ! but they are tastie blums ,there's a greegage tree on the plot next to me and they are realy tastie infact I nearly took on the plot when the bloke on there got kicked off just for the tree ,it would have been worth £15 just for the fruit from that tree alone ! atb Dal.

[Philthy]

Cheers guys, I've had a cursory look at some varieties; the Reine Claude gage could be a goer, and it's self fertile, though it turns out there is a plum tree a few doors down from us. My brief is 'sweeter but don't want to be inundated with fruit' (fruit for one essentially)!
Keepers look to have a huge range of plum trees (same place my apple tree came from), and describe availability in the shops as woeful. Interesting.
Glad to discover the rootstocks are a similar process to sourcing apple trees; no space for a big tree, so I was hoping to get an equivalent of say an M26, and the plum version looks to be known as 'Pixie', reaching a final height of 10 feet. Perfect.
Bit more research needed though..

[nickdub]

very broadly speaking plums tend to be divided into those you can expect to give you a load of fruit, and those that are said to be of higher quality. If you fancy one of the latter you could have a look for Oullins Golden Gage, it is a little easier to grow than some of the trickier ones and is very tasty when fully ripe.

If you see other varieties you want an opinion on, by all means post some more questions, as its likely someone will be able to help you.

[Thelma Sanders]

hi iv'e got something going on with the leaves on my plum tree they are curling up ,i found a caterpilar

The caterpillar could be Winter Moth. You stop these by putting a grease band around the trunk just before the leaves open in early Spring. This stops the female moth from climbing the tree to lay her eggs.

Agree with nick about Oullins Golden Gage