I know what you mean by demoralizing cause we had a 30’ Italian prune plum tree that produced the best, largest plums that everyone who tried raved about but over the cousinsof 5-6 years I waged a losing battle against black knot. Even cutting away and disposing of a third of the branches every year that showed any sign of black knot was not enough. Ended up cutting it down to a tall stump. Surprisingly the tree grew back lots of healthy (knock on wood) branches with several huge plums waiting for harvest this year.
Got my first crop this year. Size typically ranging from 1.5" to 1.75". This is definitely a low acid plum. The only acid is in the skin and maybe a little at the pit. I haven’t detected any bubblegum flavor. The flavor seems more like a Shiro infused with a little banana. Freestone is a plus.
Update: I got positive comments from other people today, which is no surprise given the low tartness of the skins. In the past, people have been quick to disapprove of the tart skins on Japanese plums. I tell them not to eat the skins then, but they give me the this “no thanks” look. I admit it is a bit messy to separate the skins from the flesh of a juicy plum, but some are worth it! Anyhow, I could see these being quartered up for a fruit tray targeting casual fruit eaters. It’s also a nice plum for a portable snack.
Hi Mike…what is the Ozark Premier like ?..everyone’s tastes are different but it comes up as good to excellent flavour on the web…of course the web is full of it…I too enjoy a bit of tart flavour to balance sweetness…looking for plums with big flavour…Im in zone 5b
sorry to hear…i was wary of planting Italian and other European plums because of that…i did have a bit on my Italian plum a couple years back…I cut it out and haven’t seen anything since. I probably also sprayed it down with a copper or sulphur…can’t recall…this past year I had a lot of sour cherry tree/bushes that self seeded and they were riddled I cut them all down but haven’t had a chance to burn or anywhere to put the brush…i sprayed the pile down with sulphur and copper…im hoping its not spreading all over the place during this wet weather,
good to know…I’ve got 3…strangely…the youngest one is the only one that produced a few plums last summer…probably loaded next year…had to try them unripe to save them from chipmunks…not ripe enough though to say if I like them …
That’s good to hear! I didn’t buy any plum trees this past year, but it’s at the top of my list for this spring. Toka is a definite and I need a second tree to pair it with… seems like Superior might be the best option.
Ozark Premier is very good tasting, nice sized fruits, and early fruiting. It may have some susceptibility to black knot, not completely sure on that. I grafted it along with some others. All were very good but one developed black knot. I didn’t tag the branches so it may or may not be the susceptible one.
RE: OZARK PREMIER
For me it has a verrry short window during which I enjoy it. When it is still crisp it seems a little bland to me. As it turns more color I have to catch it at the time when it starts getting softer and a little stringy. That is when it gets that "plum’ flavor that I like.
Other “plum” derivatives like Flavor King, Flavor Supreme, Dapple Dandy, Splash, Geo Pride have a great flavor at all times from when crisp through when they start to soften. The flavor is great throughout the harvest time which is also much longer than the usual Japanese plums.
I am planting more of these hybrids and will be adding more grafts to the existing Japanese plums to decrease their output to match my “edibility” window and increase the hybrid mix to its harvest window.
Overall too Mike, I too find the hybrids extremely good hard or soft. I did find sometimes when new they don’t reach potential till more mature, but besides that I love the pluots. I have all you mentioned and few others. Looking for the hard to find commercial types to add to the collection. Flavor Blast is one that has evaded me so far.
I wonder if some of the "commercial’’ ones are not the same as we have access to but just with different names.
Regardless, if I was guaranteed that all the ones that I already have would fruit and produce each year like they did this past year, I WOULD HAPPILY STOP LOOKING.
Its like finally finding the right woman who is the right mix of smart, sexy, serious and seriously funny and patient… YOU JUST STOP LOOKING!
I agree. Flavor King was shockingly sweet for not getting any direct sun. Furthermore, it appears to be just as cold hardy as the average Japanese plum. Toka was terrible for me last year. It was mostly due to the epic rainy conditions, but I probably should have thinned them. They were much smaller and numerous than the previous year. I wanted to see if I could get them smaller while still being good, but the weather didn’t cooperate. They were so bland I shook them off the tree and discarded them. I hope I don’t see another season like that again.
The original post by @MES111 and the later comment seconded by @Drew51 has me rethinking plums…and pluots.
I have Flavor King, Flavor Supreme, and Toka in the nursery grafted last year…and I’m thinking about planting the pluots, and letting the neighbor plant the plum…but then there is an empty space where there used to be a Stanley…and there are still 3 Stanley prune.
Hmmmmm is Toka really less acid? Would Late Santa Rosa be enough pollination for FK and FS?
I would think so. I have weeping. I do like plums too, Japanese that is. Some appear to be really good too. I have yet to taste a bunch to compare, so far i like the pluots better. Weeping Santa Rosa is the only regular plum so far I care for, curious about Elephant Heart. To me Dapple Dandy pluot is big, fantastic flavor, hangs forever, very prolific too. I can see why they decided to cross is again and again and release Dapple Fire, Dapple Supreme, and Dapple jack. I don’t have fire, but have the others. I have yet to try Jack and Supreme.
Plus this year I grew out seed from many of the pluots to see what I can get. I have 5 seedlings going right now.
Yes, same thing for me with satsuma, very middle of the road. Yes, thinning helps a lot with peach flavor so it should be the same with plums. With satsuma they were thinned and still bland. Not impressed at all. Weeping santa rosa though was very good, glad I have it.
