Anyone tasted Fofonoff, Ivanovka or Lee Red Plums?

General Fruit Growing
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Wondering mostly about the skin. Thick and nasty sour? Thin and slightly sour or thin and not sour?

thanks.

edit to give some comparison, currently we have pembina and tecumseh producing, I would describe them:

Pembina: large plum, skin is Very thick and Nasty sour; that being said the inside is just a ball of liquid plummy goodness. I peel back the hide with front teeth squeeze it into my mouth and spit out the pit.

Tecumseh: about 60% size of pembina, thin and somewhat sour skin, edible but somewhat sour, inside has about the consistency of the old purple plums the grocery used to sell(german prune??); but definitely sweeter and juicier.

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Anyone??

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From Konrad’s old post:

"Fofonuff: clingstone, is a nice plum and growing in the sun was reading 9 brix. Mid august.

Ivanovka: is a very fine plum, firm and semi freestone"

From USask:
‘Fofonoff/Homesteader’ is a lime green plum with a red blush and thin skin (4 cm diameter). It is freestone with light green sweet flesh. Fruit matures mid-August and the tree has a rounded growth habit with wide-angled branches. Bred by Wasal Fofonoff in Buchanan, SK in 1973.

‘Ivanovka’ has yellow skin overlaid by deep red and a bluish bloom (3.5-4 cm diameter). It is semi-freestone and has yellow to pink aromatic, sweet flesh. The tree is broadly upright and the fruit matures in early September. Released in 1939 by the
Morden Research Station in Manitoba.
USask Plum Recommendations.pdf (1.4 MB)

I think they’re pretty rare. Not sure you can even get them in the US. If can get scions, try grafting a small test branch. Then you can give us the first quality report on them!

If you’re looking for other good zone 3 plums, try Patterson Pride, South Dakota, Waneta, or Toka.

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Thanks, have all 3, plus pitsin #5, none have produced yet, although they’re getting real close. Had flowers on fofonoff/ivanovka last yr but no fruit, hopefully this yr.
Was hoping find more first hand grower opinions. Have searched the internet but nothing other than tree sellers descriptions and the USask info.

Have a few spots in the plum area for more trees and debating between them the reason for asking.

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Sounds like you’ll soon know first-hand if you like the fruit. In the meanwhile, you can plant rootstocks in the open spots. Then later, once you decide what you prefer, you can graft them over.

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