Do you remember how cold it was? I think it was about 26 that mine survived, though the fruit set was a lot less than previous years, Did any of your plums actually set fruit? All of my plums set some.
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I only had a few plums make it through the frost. Most of the ones I have were from late flowers. AU Cherry, Odom, Spring Satin, Fall Fiesta, and Splash. Splash and Fall Fiesta set the most but they each have less than ten each. There is only one Odom but it is getting much bigger than anticipated (golf ball size). These native plums seem to be more disease resistant than the others. Iām in the process of weeding out the ones that are getting Black Knot.
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Great report on Guthrie. Can I repost the photo on the Plums for the Hot and Humid South FB Group I manage? Thanks.
Marcus
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You are welcome to repost it, thanks for asking. Iāve got a lot of Odom sitting in the tree, I hope to start harvesting them in a couple of weeks.
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I look forward to the pictures and the description. I know that you have in the past said that it is sweet but bland. I would be interested to hear how it compares with Robusto. God bless.
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Where are you located? Could not find a location in your profile.
Iām in 7b, about 30 miles west of Atlanta.
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So, what are the chances of getting decent Chickasaw plums if I grew a Guthrie with no sprays at all in 7B here in coastal Md? Is spraying essential? Would I need to grow a pollinator too? No plums around here.
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For sure you would need a pollinator, preferably another true Chickasaw. Wild ones do the best job, but most improved Chickasaws that are not Guthrie and that bloom with Guthrie would work provided itās not really a hybrid. I imagine that you will have a heck of a time with curculios if you donāt spray at all. The two plums that I know that curculios donāt like are Robusto and any strain of Munson Plum (Prunus munsonia). A Munson plum would never bloom with an Asian or Chickasaw plum, so you would need a second one for pollination. Their plums are cherry size. While Robusto and Guthrie bloom together, I canāt guarantee that they will be cross fertile. I know that Robusto does not seem to be cross fertile with Tooleās Heirloom which is an improved Chickasaw plum that is very similar to Guthrie. Robusto is a hybrid, and many hybrid plums are pollen sterile to other hybrids. It would not surprise me if many Improved Chickasaw plums around today turn out to really be hybrids. Thatās why I say a wild type Chickasaw would be the most reliable pollinizer for any improved Chickasaws like Guthrie provided they bloom together. God bless.
Marcus
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If you want to try one I originally ordered both Guthrie and Odom from Mail Order Natives in Florida, and was very pleased with the plants, price, and shipping. At the time they also had Odom but I donāt see it listed right now. They resume shipping in the fall, maybe theyāll have it back in stock. If youād like to take a shot at grafting let me know. I can send you wood from Guthrie, Odom, Robusto, and my native Chickasaw which is small, sour, and yellow. All of these are right next to each other in my yard and I have no pollination issues. The issues Iāve had are plum curculio, a big problem, and brown rot, a small one. I think the brown rot is probably controllable with good cultural practices-removing drops, making sure fruit doesnāt touch, pruning the tree to an open center. The last is most difficult because the tree is so vigorous.
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Will Odom and Guthrie pollinate each other or should I get a wild Chickasaw to improve pollination? I have 2 Guthrie and one Odom. This year only the Guthrie bloomed. I planted them last year and really didnāt expect either to bloom . Maybe next year.
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You may get to be the person who answers that question for all of us. I donāt know of anyone who just has Guthrie and Odom. Maybe they will bloom together next year and we will find out. However, Odom has a reputation for taking longer to mature than Guthrie.
Marcus
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With the plums on the plate, is it safe to say that Guthrie is on the left and Odom is on the right?
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Yes Guthrie is on the left of the plate and Odom on the right. The other plum picture is showing several different plums including Odom, Guthrie, Santa Rosa, and a couple unnamed Chickasaw plums with very small fruit.
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Despite several freezes happening during bloom, Guthrie, Odom, Robusto, Tooleās heirloom, and the native chickasaw all have decent fruit set. The freezes were mild, thankfully, usually at 29 or 30 degrees, and usually only lasted a few hours.
The Robusto, grafted to the same native chickasaw rootstock, appears to be a good pollinator for a pluot seedling. The native chickasaws, Guthrie, and Odom are terrible, perhaps complete failures, as pollinators for that same seedling pluot.
Today I sprayed the zeta-cypermethrin Sevin formula for plum curculio. The Tooleās heirloom tree had several ladybugs on it so I skipped it. It also had the lightest fruit set, so hopefully the PC will skip it too.
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Wonder how these plums would do in mid Missouri? Anyone ever try grafting them k-1?
They graft easily on each other and other large plum trees. They would probably do fine, but they bloom early enough that they will probably get yacked by a late frost a lot.
Most years Japanese plums set pretty decent here. Do they bloom earlier?