Plum Trees

Info

Plum fruit is sweet and juicy and it can be eaten fresh or used in jam-making or other recipes. Plum juice can be fermented into plum wine; when distilled, this produces a brandy known in Eastern Europe as Slivovitz, Rakia, Tzuica or Palinka. Dried plums are known as prunes. Prunes are also sweet and juicy and contain several antioxidants.

Prune marketers in the United States have, in recent years, begun marketing their product as "dried plums", because "prune" has negative connotations connected with elderly people suffering from constipation.

Varieties

  • Bruce

    Early Season. Japanese plum. Large, brilliant, wine-red fruit with red flesh. Early, heavy bearer. Delicious flavor. Requires pollination.

  • Burbank

    Mid-late Season. Japanese plum. Large, purplish red fruit. Sweet, meaty amber yellow, clingstone flesh. Excellent flavor. Low growing, flat topped, somewhat drooping tree. Widely adapted. Requires pollination.

  • Morris

    Mid Season. Japanese plum. Medium to large, round, red fruit with bright red flesh. Flesh red to the pit. Excellent quality. Requires pollination.

  • Santa Rosa

    Mid Season. Japanese plum. Very large, round oval, purplish red fruit. Fragrant, fine textured, clingstone flesh, purplish near the skin, yellow streaked pink near the pit. High quality. Large vigorous, fast growing tree. Requires pollination.

Care and Maintenance

  1. Preparing the Hole

    Dig the hole as deep as the root ball, and as much as three times as wide as the diameter of the root ball. Breaking up the soil around the tree provides the newly emerging roots room to grow into loose soil to hasten establishment.

  2. Placing Your Tree

    Place the tree carefully in the center of the hole after removing it from the container. The tree's root collar (the bulge right above the root system) should be just above the top of the soil. Don't dig the hole too deep. It is better if the root collar is slightly (1 to 2") higher than ground level because of possible setting.

  3. Filling the Hole

    Carefully fill the hole with soil when the tree is positioned and straight. Fill the hole about 1/3 full and lightly push the soil around the base of the root ball. Fill the remainder of the hole taking care to gently but firmly pack soil to eliminate air pockets that may cause the roots to dry out. Don't plant the tree too deep. Back fill the soil to the height just below the root collar.

  4. Mulching

    Place 2 to 4 inches of mulch in a 2 to 3 foot circle around the tree. Keep the mulch from touching the trunk to keep fungus from growing on the trunk. Mulch can be aged wood chips or bark. Mulch helps keep roots moist and insulates them, and prevents weed growth. It is not recommended to apply fertilizer at the time of planting.

  5. Watering

    Water the tree well as soon as you plant it. Water the tree at least once a week for the first year after planting. A slow, root-saturating, one-hour trickle once a week is recommended for a new tree. The watering schedule should be adjusted accordingly if it rains or is very dry.