The thought occurred to me! Here I am with several plums that I have to work to keep healthy… meanwhile only a short distance away, choked by ivy and in only half sun… is an apparently healthy plum tree. I won’t be around to sample the fruit when they ripen but I will protect a few and ask someone else to taste them for me.
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I know this is pretty far off topic, and I certainly don’t say what I’m about to say to in any way contradict what Mike just said, but Mike’s comment reminded me I cut down a Paulownia stump sprout last week from a tree that was cut down in early 2015, so only 2 full growing seasons old, and it was 4-1/4" in diameter and tall enough that I was worried about it hitting the power line about 30’ away (and however tall power lines are) if I waited another year to cut it.
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I used to have huge thickets of them in the pasture. The cattle would have trails broke through them where they would hide in them. They would also stuff themselves on the plums but there were always so many there was plenty for everybody.
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Toole,
I wonder how Chickasaw plums would do in the Mid-Atlantic zones 7 and 6. Perhaps they would get froze out/ zapped by late frosts…
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Just looked at a few sales sites and they indicates zones 5-9. Not sure if you can rely on their information.
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Just measured the brix on two Guthries today. One was just less than 13, the other right at 15. The 15 tasted significantly sweeter.
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I put on 4-5 scions of Guthrie and all have done well so they might give me a sample next season. Out of my three different Chickasas plums this one has me the most excited. My wants are most likely different than many others.
-13-15 brix is okay with me as I like slightly tart plums with a touch of salt
-Reportedly low to no suckering is good because I just don’t have the space to cultivate a grove although I would like to.
-Not sure how fast it will grow but if the recent grafts are an indication it gets it’s size slowly. Just what I want.
-Low disease so I can use it as a rootstock or interstem.
Bill
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I do not have any at this time but I would love to get some seeds. Lucky_P you are the closest to my zone , I’m in southern IN. Do you think we can make a deal when they become available ?
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. The Guthrie plums continue to ripen, and the odums continue to sit in the tree looking like they should ripen, but doing very little. I think I’ve eaten over 50 Guthries, so I feel informed about them now.
Positives for guthrie this year
Extremely productive
Still no diseases
Lots of flavor when really ripe
Vigorous tree
Fruit not in the sun ripens yellow not red-birds and squirrels haven’t figured out the yellow ones are just as ripe. The yellow one on the left was 15 brix, the reddish on the right was 13.
Negatives for guthrie
Lots and lots of fruit cracking. Most of it. We’ve had a lot of rain, but this is really severe. Most of the fruit that cracks is still good, though. If you wanted to market the fruit, this would be a deciding factor for no.
Brix may be too low for some. Consistently 12 to 15. Perhaps more thinning and less rain would raise that some, but I don’t think it’s ever going to be super sweet.
Skin is sour.
Probably needs a daily harvest. Fruit goes from unripe to falling off the tree ripe very quickly.
Tree may be too vigorous. I’ll be doing another summer pruning after the harvest ends.
Positives for guthrie this year
Extremely productive
Still no diseases
Lots of flavor when really ripe
Vigorous tree
Fruit not in the sun ripens yellow not red-birds and squirrels haven’t figured out the yellow ones are just as ripe. The yellow one on the left was 15 brix, the reddish on the right was 13.
Negatives for guthrie
Lots and lots of fruit cracking. Most of it. We’ve had a lot of rain, but this is really severe. Most of the fruit that cracks is still good, though. If you wanted to market the fruit, this would be a deciding factor for no.
Brix may be too low for some. Consistently 12 to 15. Perhaps more thinning and less rain would raise that some, but I don’t think it’s ever going to be super sweet.
Skin is sour.
Probably needs a daily harvest. Fruit goes from unripe to falling off the tree ripe very quickly.
Tree may be too vigorous. I’ll be doing another summer pruning after the harvest ends.
Overall, I’m impressed. The strong “fruit” flavor, not just sweetness, is my favorite quality of this tree.
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.
The Odum Chickasaw plums are ripening now, and have been for a week. They are larger and sweeter than the Guthries-consistently 15 brix. The skin is not very sour, but is slightly thicker. They haven’t cracked nearly as much as the Guthries, though it’s been a bit dryer. Fruit is very juicy but not very firm when dead ripe. They get a very nice red color if they get sun, and will ripen in the windowsill.
Very vigorous tree, still no diseases with no spray at all, a lot fewer curc strikes, a lot less fruit set.
This tree looks like a winner. I wonder how resistant it will be to brown rot?
The Odum Chickasaw plums are ripening now, and have been for a week. They are larger and sweeter than the Guthries-consistently 15 brix. The skin is not very sour, but is slightly thicker. They haven’t cracked nearly as much as the Guthries, though it’s been a bit dryer. Fruit is very juicy but not very firm when dead ripe. They get a very nice red color if they get sun, and will ripen in the windowsill.
Very vigorous tree, still no diseases with no spray at all, a lot fewer curc strikes, a lot less fruit set.
This tree looks like a winner. I wonder how resistant it will be to brown rot?
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Thanks for the beautiful photos. A picture is truly worth a thousand words. Also thanks for notes about sweetness and the like. God bless.
Marcus
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Thanks for the update. The Odom makes a larger plum than what I was thinking it would.
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Yes, they are huge compared to the wild chickasaws I’m familiar with. The leaf shape is slightly different too. I wonder if it’s some sort of natural hybrid?
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Matt, I must not have seen your question before. The Flora of the Carolinas by Radford implies that there are native populations of P. angustifolia in nearly every county in North Carolina except the ones in the mountains. Given that distribution, I would guess that Chickasaw plums taken from populations in the northern part of the range should do OK in Maryland, especially if you are near the coast and especially if its on a south facing slope with some protection to the North and West. That’s just a guess.
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I just purchased two Chickasaw plum trees and a “Mexican” plum tree from Nativ Nurseries (as well as a lot of oak trees). The plants were nice sized for the price.
I’d be more than happy to grow out some seeds here, and see how they do. I’m converting over from grafted fruiting plants, to more native types. I’m still keeping my grafted trees, but what doesn’t survive gets taken out.
On hardiness the Chickasaw grow wild here in IL. zone 5 . I bought some seedlings from Ga . 2 years ago and all survived the winter . So I think they are hardy even from more southern sources .
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Hello Marcus,
Ive started growing some native plums including Odom and Guthrie but am very impressed with the looks of your Mckibbon plum. I would love to graft a couple so I was going to see if you would be interested in trading some scion? I have some things you may be interested in.
Jeffrey
I would be happy to share some scion wood with you at the appropriate time. McKibben originated from Larry Stephenson. He tends to give suckers away. That might actually be your best bet. God bless.
Marcus
I would be interested in some seeds or suckers if anyone could point me in the right direction