Topic: which plum tree should I think about buying?

[Karen Atkinson]

My allotment is in the frozen NE England. We get short summers, though today is beautiful. My allotment faces East and we have half of it shaded alot of the day by a huge tree. Ideally I'd like plums for both eating and cooking. Any suggestions?

[goodlife]

The frozen NE England is not problem.. ;D You've got load to choose from.
Czar is cooking plum and have some resistance to frost. It ripens from purple to almost black..although sold as cooking it is nice for eating too.
One that I highly recommend is Herman..it is lovely sweet eating one..and the fruit is early..ripe by end of July.
Opal start ripening around middle of August..yellow with purplish flush..partially self-fertile..good flavour. Originally raised in Sweden so I will have some tolerance to frost.
Those are some of what I grow..one of my cataques list 50 odd varieties..so you just have to take your pick there is such a variety..
rv.roger is northern fruit nursery...check their site..maybe you get some more ideas.. ;)http://www.rvroger.co.uk/PDF/Winter%20Fruit%20Catalogue%202010-11.pdf

[realfood]

Victoria does very well in Glasgow on our allotments, but get a dwarfing root stock, so that it is easier to pick.

[Melbourne12]

We've found that Victoria is quite difficult to grow.  Czar and Marjorie's Seedling are both prolific and delicious.

[Vinlander]

In the case of fruit trees, the term "dual purpose" generally means the same as "good for nothing".

Marjories Seedling for example only produces dessert-quality plums at the end of a really good summer - and that's in London!

Get yourself a really good-flavoured early dessert plum that gives you at least a chance of decent fruit in the frozen north, and if you don't like the plums as cookers (unlikely) then buy plums in the shops.

99% of the plums in the shops (100% of the billiard-ball asian varieties) are only good for cooking anyway.

Most cookers are large - this is just for convenience - I've never found a plum that wouldn't cook, and I've got 4 in my back garden alone.

Early Transparent Gage is my best early plum. It becomes mealy much later (if you're daft enough to leave them on the tree until Sep) but I doubt that will be a problem in Scotland.

Even better follow Goodlife's advice about catalogues - but forget the cooking bit.

Cheers

[busy_lizzie]

I grow Victoria Plums and  have had the tree about four years now, and apart from the settling in period of the first year, I have had some really good crops. Last year was a bumper one, and this year haven't done too bad either. Live in the North East and have never had any problems, neither have any of my allotment neighbours as far as I have been aware. So my advice would be to go for Victorias, and I am sure you won't be disappointed.   :) busy_lizzie

[KittyKatt]

I grow Opal, which is nice tasting, fruits well  and on my allotment fruits earlier than Victoria. I also grow Victoria, which is the sweetest, juiciest plum I have every eaten. I've also got Cambridge gage, which hasnt done very well so far, although the 5 fruit it produced this year were delicious. I've just bought an oullins golden gage, as I've heard very good things about it.

KittyKatt

[pierre]

We have a Victoria Plum here in Sunny Hartlepool and we get bucketsful of beautiful fruit.They make great chutney ,are lovely cooked but ,best of all eaten fresh from the tree.Once and a while if there is a frost when the trees are in flower we dont get as many plums.There are always too many plums for us to eat and process

[budgiebreeder]

Victoria here as well in West Yorkshire .More than i can cope with off one tree.Neighbours hide when they see me coming with bags in my hands.lol.

[jennym]

here in Essex, Victoria normally does very well, as does Opal. I've got Oullin's Golden Gage too, its a very sweet yellow plum, good for eating. Reine Claude Doree greengage is very prolific now after 10 years. Mind you, we had a very severe late frost this year, so the crop from all of them has been pathetic.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm in a frost pocket, so plums aren't too reliable for me, unfortunately.