HELP! What is this on my plum tree?

Looks like a E. plum. You asked my advice about favorite plums, but I wouldn’t have guessed that you’d have good luck with a E. there. Mostly as far south as you in the humid regions people have most success with Japanese plums. Scott has written extensively about his favorite plums in Maryland- that might be your go to for advice. You probably would go wrong with a Satsuma, though.

Thank you. :blush:

That was supposed to read, you probably wouldn’t go wrong with Satsuma- that is one of Scott’s favorite J. plums and mine. Up here it is not as reliable or tough as some other very good ones though.

I have no clue why? Maybe because it was the first year it fruited? But to me Satsuma was dead last on my list of plums. I thought it was the worst one. Everything else was better. Also it was an all around good year, hope it rates better in the future. It was only one year of trying them, of course so were most of the others. I need a few year to evaluate . Some other fruits I have had did the same thing the first year. Subsequent years they did get better one rose all the way to the top, so who knows?

It is a very sweet, dark red fleshed plum, similar to Elephant Heart (the queen of J. plums) but much more reliable, more precocious but with smaller fruit. It is also similar in flavor to the very popular Purple Heart, I’m told.

It takes ten years, IMO, before one is really qualified to evaluate a given variety- and only as it pertains to the orchard where you are judging it (it is amazing how much the quality of varieties vary from spot to spot, sometimes only a mile apart). Of course, that never stops me from blurting out my opinion the very first season I try a new variety.

1 Like

Their are so many Japanese or Jap.- American plums, I see ones new to me all the time. In recent months Rosemary, Venier, Wickson, Hanska, Kahinta, South Dakota, Underwood, and Zapie. I haven’t a clue? I got some wood to Rosemary. I have to research the others, but I’m just about full.
Currently I have growing

Asian Plums (I have one Euro-Mirabelle de Nancy).
Satsuma
Weeping Santa Rosa
Nadia
Toka
Superior
Vermont
Laraoda
Lavina

Plumcots/pluots

Spring Satin
FQ, FK, FS, FG
Dapple Dandy
Dapple Jack
Honey Punch
Crimson Royale
Fall Fiesta
Ebony Rose
I have room for 2-3 more, that’s it.
I have wood for more than that though! yikes! I will try and fit them!
Rosemary, Black Ice, Howard Miracle and others.
I concentrated on peach scion this year, I have three seedlings I’m going to turn into multi-grafted trees at a young age (2nd leaf seedlings). Mostly for practice, and if I get a few to take, I’m good.
I’m also grafting figs and mulberries. If all goes well I’m done with stone fruit grafting.I really want a good yellow peach and a couple more nectarines, and I’m good. I have wood for Fantasia and Red Gold. If I get one I’m good.
So to conclude if anybody wants to know what is good, and what’s not, contact me in 2028! :slight_smile:

2 Likes

I’m counting on hearing about it the day you taste the first of any of those.

2 Likes

I finally decided - and ordered a Black Ice. And a Toka.
Drew, I can’t believe how many you have growing! When you do your own grafting to rootstock - then how long before you can actually expect to harvest any fruit? Do you plant in-ground after 1 year of keeping it potted? Just curious.

I think it’s fascinating that so many of the people on this forum are involved in grafting. I’m too lazy to get involved in that. Or maybe just too impatient? Some days I think I’m running out of time, at this point in my life, even planting a 2 year old tree - and having to wait several years for fruit. (Going through a ‘mortality awareness phase’ I guess.) I do love ‘listening’ to the conversations about it, tho. And maybe someday I’ll get the bug.

I’m not sure? I only have done a few like this, and some are in ground and some are in containers. Most maybe 90% is on 3 to 6 year old trees in ground. I give each cultivar a scaffold, and have 3-6 scaffolds per tree. 6 is a pain 4 is perfect.
In this case the graft fruits in one year, but I remove fruit to let it have 2 years to become strong, except for a few that grew 3 feet or more the first year. They are thick enough to bear fruit (I’ll still remove all but a few at the most, 1 is more likely), so 1 to 2 years from initial graft. Fastest way to get stone fruit! Making more sense now?

Each scaffold say on a 4 scaffold tree will produce about 20 fruit. How many of one kind do I need? Twenty is just about right! So instead of having 80 Red Havens, I have 20 Red Havens, 20 Ernie’s Choice, 20 Redskins, and 20 June Pride’s all ripening at different times, so spreading the harvest out all season.
That is the goal at least! Still getting there! My trees on average produce about 80-120 fruits. I may thin them down more in the future, as I noticed a huge jump in quality of the fruit with fewer fruits on the tree. I have 4 trees producing right now, and 3 smaller ones of nectarines or peaches. I got about 400 peaches and nectarines total last year.(out of the 4 producing trees).
I also have 4 plum trees at the moment. Some are both plum and peach :slight_smile:

Yeah I’ll have to tell you all, I have tasted 6 on that list. Which is not very many!!
But they are all growing on good takes, more than one in most cases. I have three takes on a few. Everything took last year, an amazing year. Even if all my grafts fail this year, I still have all of those on that list.

If I let my plum trees over fruit this year due to not thinning will this result in low amount of fruit buds the following season? I’m relatively new to growing plums and I haven’t had enough seasons with them to understand their tendencies.

I don’t think over-cropping prevents plums from bearing annually- at least if all other factors regarding stress are minimized. I don’t think thinning is done in commercial production of prunes or even for fresh prune plums. From what I’ve seen in farm markets, even small growers often don’t thin plums of any kind. .

1 Like

That was my first thought as well but after a closer inspection I don’t think that is cicada. I had cicada damage in 2016 and while it created longitudinal slits in the branches, the slits were for lack of a better term “ribbed” perpendicularly to the branch. I’ve posted a few pictures here on the site somewhere if I can find them.

1 Like

Yeah I have to go by what Alan said. I was thinking of peaches when i wrote that. Apples can bear every other year from over-cropping. I noticed with my nectarines the year I thinned heavy they really improved in taste, it was noticeable.

1 Like

Thanks

Thank you

I keep re-reading your post, Drew I just cannot believe it. Amazing. Just amazing. I wish I lived closer, so I could visit and see them! I am investigating a grafting workshop - and may sign up. You guys all have me verrrrrrry interested! :astonished:

1 Like

Could it be mice climbing the tree? It looks like something’s been causing a wound - that then heals over. I’ll keep a closer eye on the newer branches this summer . . . maybe I’ll see the culprits. Some bugs, probably.

I love forcing blossoms!

Hey thanks, it took me 3 years to get a decent amount to take. Last year almost every single graft took, I doubt I can do that again.

This year I have loads of scion, it’s going to take me quite a few sessions to graft it all. A few I’m excited about like Old Mixon Free white peach. Thomas Jefferson grew it. It is no longer sold even though it’s one of the best white peaches around. You can only get scion from growers. June Pride is another I’m excited about. Fruitgrower brought it to my attention. Patent is expired. Click on link below this line.

about 15 peaches I have wood for this year.
Ernie’s Choice is another I really want. But all scion given to me will be used, thanks to all who helped me out.

2 Likes

Hello Andrew,
i’m a fruit grower and collector from Estonia, EU. I’d like to get in touch w you, maybe we can exchange some interesting grafting material?

egordejev@me.com

Best regards
Jegor Dejev