Growing Plums

Plum trees should not be the first choice of fruit tree for the totally inexperienced gardener, but with a little knowledge they are not too hard to grow - read on and let UltraGrowth show you how.

Plums are the juiciest of all fruit trees, and picked fresh they are even juicier. They can be grown to suit almost all garden sizes, and may well outlast you with a life of 50 years! Why not give them a try, and go one up on the normal apple tree?

Choosing Your Plum Tree

Give careful consideration to what type of plum tree is best for you. Buying a plum tree which might grow to 9m (30ft) tall producing masses of cooking plums is not a good idea if you have a small garden and want eating plums! The three key factors in choosing a plum tree are size, taste and pollination.

Size

Fan trained - plum trees grow to an eventual height of around 2 m (7 ft). Although the shortest of all the forms, they will grow to a width of around 3 m (10 ft.) and are really only a practical proposition when grown against a wall (not north-facing). If you have that sort of wall space available, this is the form for you.

Pyramid - trained plum trees are free-standing and will grow to an eventual height of 2.5 m (8 ft). These are a good form for a smallish garden - their spread will be about 1.6 m (5 ft). This form of tree has branches radiating out in random directions from a straight central trunk.

Bush - trained plum trees are free-standing and are taller than the pyramid form - around 4m when mature. They do have one advantage over the pyramid form however, the branches and foliage is held around 1 m (3 ft) high from the ground - this makes mowing around the tree much easier. The downside is that some of the fruit will be too high to pick without the use of a ladder.

Half standard - trained plum trees are again free- standing and will grow to a height of around 6 m (20 ft). This is a largish tree and only suitable for medium to large gardens. It will produce a mass of plums each year, most of them needing a ladder to harvest.

Standard - plum trees reach a height of around 8 m (28 ft) at maturity - on your own head be it if you plant one of these in anything but a large garden. They will produce enough fruit to feed your entire neighbourhood and you will definitely need a decent sized ladder to pick most of the fruit.

Taste

The best way to make a decision on taste, is to understand a little about the types of plums available.

Bullace - strictly a cooking plum. The trees are smaller than normal and very hardy, they are also ornamental. The fruit has a very sharp flavour, excellent for jams and preserving.

Damson - another cooking plum, but sweeter than the bullace. The fruits are have a sharpish taste and are ideal for pies, tarts and jams. Plum - some are cooking and some are eating.

Gage - eating (desert) plums. These are some of the the sweetest form of plum and they have a distinct 'plum' fragrance. They produce their best when fan-trained against a solid south-facing wall.

Czar - A good eating plum that produces medium-sized round or oval purple plums of good flavour. The flesh is yellow-green and very juicy. It is a good-cropper and hardy for all but the very coldest areas... self pollinating.

Dennistons Superb - A great tasting gage, Denniston's Superb is amongst the best as far as eating plums go. The pale green skin is tinged with a red flush. It reliably produces a good crop of plums in late summer...self pollinating.

Early Laxton - Cooker and eater but best for cooking. Medium-sized fruit, tinged with pink. Sweet and juicy. The earliest of all plums, producing fruit in early August...partially self pollinating.

Marjories Seedling - A great eating plum, it produces fruit from mid September. Unusually, this plum keeps very well in the fridge, extending the eating period by up to 4 weeks. Large oval blue-black plums. Juicy yellow flesh with a good flavour. A vigorous tree which produces a large number of plums...self pollinating.

Old English Greengage - This is the best taste of all varieties. The colourless flesh is full of flavour and juicy - a real treat. This is not a high yielding variety. Pollinate with Czar or Victoria.

Victoria - A popular variety with large fruits, and an excellent taste. The flesh is green to yellow and very juicy. A heavy cropper, producing fruit in September...self pollinating.

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