Thanks Scott! In this time frame I have Dapple Dandy, Flavor King and Flavor Grenade; is it worth adding Lavina then? I was considering grafting Lavina and Laroda next year (after reading a lot of praise for them lately).
I looked up my note. Lavina picked on 8/14/18, sweet, perfumey. Brix 15 that was high for last year when it rained like crazy all summer.
It also ripen about the same time as Nadia in my yard. I let both hung for long time.
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Scott,
I thought you like Black Ice?
For me, Lavina ripens about two weeks after Flavor Supreme and a few days before Emerald Drop. This is about a full month before Dapple Dandy and five weeks before Flavor King. I’m talking here about the start of ripening date, since Lavina has a long harvest window, it ripens over almost three weeks here. As a rule of thumb, the difference in ripening times between southern and northern locations is largest for early ripening varieties and gradually decreases as the season progresses.
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Lavina is a unique flavor so I think it adds to any plum planting. Just make sure to let them hang a long time, otherwise they are nothing special. @Stan might have better information on the ripening, although I notice the California dates seem to be quite askew from mine even in terms of relative times. Looking at my log more carefully, its always before Dapple Dandy and after Purple Heart.
@mamuang, I like Black Ice but it cracks badly and it was not so absolutely fantastic so as to put up with that. It apparently has a reputation for cracking so its not just me.
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Wisconsin…it’s probably a solid zone 4 some winters maybe even h igher…this past winter was brutal===though not the norm the past 15 to 20 years.
I cut off a Lavina graft by accident, luckily I have two and the second is a huge branch now, so no big deal. I should get fruit this year, can’t wait! Thanks to Bob Vance for the wood!
Bob also sent Laroda too and that should also fruit. I’m about to start grafting here. Emperor Francis Cherry is first.
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Anyone have Lavina wood available?
Yes. I’m about to go prune, got anything to trade? PM me if interested.
@BobVance,
I protected my Lavina so well I forgot that should be picked sooner. Mine are very ripe, soft and juicy. Sweet and fragrant. I was surprised brix was only 18. It tasted like 20 +.
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They look excellent!
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Very nice but mine are small. Another nice small plum is Purple Heart.
In this year of late frosts, Lavina was the best setting stone fruit in my yard, even though it is right at the bottom of a hill, where I assume cold would accumulate. But, even a large crop wasn’t enough to get much past the animals. I think I was able to eat 2-3 of them, when they first started to ripen around 7/25. Then, the rest vanished in one night.
18 is still quite high for Lavina. I think the best I had this year was about 15, which was still quite good. What remained on the tree wasn’t blushed and was very firm, but evidentially, it was tasty enough for whatever found it.
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They look so good Tippy! Where dies Lavinia fall among your plum rankings?
Those a bit overripe.
I have limited experience. So far, I’ve tasted about 12 varieties of J plums and hybrids (not include pluots or E plums), I like Purple Heart, Laroda, Elephant Heart, Lavinia. The rest are less memorable.
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Ok, so how do these compare to your favorite Euros? Also, have you tried Flavor King, F Supreme and GeoPride?
Ahmad,
To me, J plum tastes straight forward, sweet. Skin can be tart and flesh near the pit can be tart or bitter, too. It taste is less complex compared to Euro plums. Good Euro has other sutlety besides sweetness. Some are perfumed (not sure it’s the right word) when you bite into it.
I don’t compare. They ripen at different times. These past few weeks, J plums have been very nice. By the end of August to late Sept, it is E plum’s turn.
Experienced people like @scottfsmith and @Stan probably can give you better descriptions of excellent J plums vs excellent E plums.
Unfortunately, I have not tried pluots but I am sure I will like them.
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Thanks Tippy. I have already read Scott’s multiple reviews of various plums, and also saw Stan’s post about his varieties, but I like to gather opinions of different individuals.
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I have Flavor King fruiting this year. Not sure when to pick them. Could be mid Sept.
From what I read, Flavor Supreme is stingy here. I have one fruit this year for the first time. I don’t think I see anyone on the east coast talks about Geo Pride. Those California wonderful fruit are more misses than hits here.
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GeoPride has been doing relatively well for me. It is very sweet with nice flavor, ranking after FK and FS among pluots for me (all three are way better than Methely, Shiro and Hollywood plums). It sets a big crop and is not very bad with cracking after rain. The only downside that I noticed this year was significant defoliation after a spring rain, due to bacterial spot. Defoliation was followed by dropping half its crop, because of tree shock. Next year, I would spray it prophylactically with oxytetracycline to suppress bacterial spot.
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