Plum or damson ?

[Lardman]

This is why you should always label your trees when you graft them not after

Can anyone tell the difference between a plum and damson from just the leaves ? Honestly they all look the same to me. I don't fancy waiting 5 years to find out but it seems wrong to bin the tree just because Im a muppet.

[cheops]

I have a Damson ‘merryweather, tree and three different plums ~ czar, opal and Victoria. Having just read your post I went outside with a torch to see if there was any difference. The damson leaves are identical to all the plum leaves with one exception. The leaves on the damson are smaller. Don’t know if this will be of any help. If you have both plum and damson I would suggest if any of your trees have smaller leaves with NO large broad leaves there is your damson.

[Lardman]

Being a newly grafted tree everything is small and there's not a lot to compare. It's either a shropshire prune or yellow pershore even trying to compare against material from the source trees I can't tell.

[mothhawk]

This is why you should always label your trees when you graft them not after

Can anyone tell the difference between a plum and damson from just the leaves ? Honestly they all look the same to me. I don't fancy waiting 5 years to find out but it seems wrong to bin the tree just because Im a muppet.

If you grafted a plum and a damson why do you want to bin it? You must have wanted it when you grafted it, what difference does it make that you must wait till it fruits to find which it is?

[Lardman]

If you grafted a plum and a damson why do you want to bin it?

I grafted both, only one of the grafts took Im not sure which died or which survived. In order to guarantee I save both (the source trees are very unhealthy) I'd have to graft both again successfully. Otherwise you know I'll end up with 2 damsons

You must have wanted it when you grafted it

If it stands still long enough I'll take scion wood from it

[It never rains..it pours]

I have a Damson ‘merryweather, tree and three different plums ~ czar, opal and Victoria. Having just read your post I went outside with a torch to see if there was any difference. The damson leaves are identical to all the plum leaves with one exception. The leaves on the damson are smaller. Don’t know if this will be of any help. If you have both plum and damson I would suggest if any of your trees have smaller leaves with NO large broad leaves there is your damson.

Cheops, how do you find those 3 plums compare on taste, etc, thank you ?

[Guest]

Cheops, how do you find those 3 plums compare on taste, etc, thank you ?

I find victoria prone to disease and insect damage but it is like a plum equivalent to bramley apple large quantities that can be used in most things. I think victoria is the better flavoured and size of 'czar, opel and victoria'. Marjories Seedling is on a par (IMO) flavour wise but mine is not a reliable fruiter.

[cheops]

Hi ‘It never rains’, — reference how they compare to taste etc. - I think everyone would give you a different answer. What might be my favourite may well not be yours. Any homegrown plum will be fresh and taste good - some better than others - but any variety will be a pleasant fruit to eat and by far better than any bought in the shops. To eat a plum moments after picking can NEVER be replicated in the shops. What I would say is if you grow three or more varieties you will have a long season as they will not all ripen at the same time. I chose these varieties as they are all self fertile, will fruit at different times and will all taste wonderful in their own right. I’ve never had disease problems so I’m not qualified to advise on that.

[It never rains..it pours]

Thank you Norfolk grey and cheops for the replies. Brother has a victoria and they are lovely, but opted for a opal as disease resistance better for wet winters. Also got a herman in the b&Q bareroot sale. Time will tell what my personal preference is then but suspect taste has slightly been lost to gain disease resitance

[Hereford fruit grower]

IMO Rivers Early Prolific is the best July plum by far. I actually prefer the taste when fully ripe to Victoria. It has a slight acidity to complement the sweetness.

In August, Jefferson's Gage is absolutely delicious and is hard to beat, although if anyone has a crop on Cambridge Gage this year it may be just ahead of Jefferson on flavour.

I'm waiting for Coe's Golden Drop to ripen in September and I'm hoping that the plum moth has given the tree a miss (see my other post). On the whole, 2018 is notable for a less good plum crop than 2017 and the arrival of the plum moth in my mini-orchard.

[BUFFS]

we have a merryweather damson fruiting properly for the first time, never having grown them before, how long do you leave them on the tree before picking, I know they are later than plums but want to sort them out and get the ripe taste, but don't want to let the birds/wasps get them all, we used to have big hedges of them around the school playground, and I remember the dashing around the greedy kids did, after eating much too much of them, in the direction of the loo's, each year we had some that would not listen to words of caution from previous years student misjudgements, but they did taste absolutely wonderful, straight off the tree..

[nickdub]

Pick one fruit off and try it - fruit on the sunny side of the tree will ripen a few days before the shady side.