Hello fruit growers! I have been perusing the web trying to find reliable data regarding my Bruce plum tree.
This tree is apparently a hybrid cross between Chickasaw plum and Japanese plum. I keep finding conflicting data on whether it is self fruitful or not. About half the websites I visit state it is, and the other states it is not.
Does anybody have experience growing this without a pollinating partner, and get fruit?
If it is not self fruitful I am considering taking it out and putting something different in it’s place. I am in Northeastern Ohio and our Springs are rather unpredictable and frosty. I think plums bloom just too darn early to get fruit and I have a Santa Rosa plum that is three years older than Bruce and still will not flower. Initially I intended to keep Santa Rosa Asa pollinizer for Bruce, but I’m really leaning towards taking it out as it has not flowered and I doubt I will get fruit from it in my climate anyhow.
I did find this chart posted by fellow member TN Hunter a few years back. It does list Bruce as self fertile but interestingly enough it also lists Santa Rosa and AU Rosa as NOT… Verrrryyy peculiar as I have always believed both these to be self fertile.
Yeah, it seems lots of the charts out there for just about anything have conflicting information. Do you grow any Japanese plums or Bruce, more specifically?
It’s not unusual for some varieties to need some years before they are mature enough to fruit. My wild goose trees from Okios are on year 5 and I hope to set fruit this year, the best advice is to keep adding Asian, and other native varieties with matching blossom times until you get cross pollination. Patience is a must with all the natives and native hybrids. Methley is not a superb fruit but an excellent pollinator. Add it or Beauty and other p Americana or P Augutifolia and their hybrid cultivars to increase your chances
Dennis
Kent Wa
At this point I really don’t think I can add anymore Asian plums, or plums in general. I know that would help, but I am totally out of acceptable spots for fruit trees, and especially stone fruit. I know I could try and graft other varieties, but at this point I am just so on the fence with plums. I love a nice sweet/tart plum when they’re good from the grocery store, but that’s all the experience I have. I have never had a locally grown plum as I don’t really think people grow them here. With Lake Erie just miles north of me I think our spring weather is just too unpredictable.
I am really struggling with making a decision as to what I should do however. I have five apple trees, three pears, and a peach tree coming in the next few weeks and they are gonna need some thought out planning to make sure they have a good spot in the yard. Unfortunately I have a lot of deer pressure and also want small trees, so the “high value” trees get planted up near the house where it’s fenced in. The problem is I have the two plums in this area occupying two very good spots.
I’m torn because I know I would be happier with tasty peaches most years than spotty plums every few, but I have an issue killing plants. I hate to just dig the trees up and cull them. I don’t know what else to do though.
It’s definitely self fruitful, for many years it was the only variety we had, and even then there have been years that we had way more fruit than we needed, despite all that the squirrels took.
To me it does not taste like plum fresh, and it’s super juicy, drips like a very juicy pear. I personally don’t like the fruit fresh, yet it does work great for making some sweets, I personally like to use it to make plum Granita (a lot like Italian Ice), and oddly it reminds me of plum way more when it’s used to make Granita, than it does fresh.
Interesting. I’m sad to hear it isn’t quite good fresh as that’s really my only interest. I know that Santa Rosa is probably more the fruit quality I am looking for, but I don’t think I’ll ever get that one to fruit in my climate. Have you any experience with AU Rosa? Or Santa Rosa for that matter…
I used to have Santa Rosa, although it died not long after I planted it, I think that grubs killed the tree, because not only was there a ton of grubs in the area of the tree, the roots looked chewed up badly. So it never had a chance to prove it’s self.
Fellow NEOhioan here, I don’t have experience with Bruce but my Methley has been my most reliable producer out of any tree I have. Last year it even got defoliated by deer halfway through the season and still finished ripening all its fruit and put on new growth. I wonder if something else is going on besides our springs or maybe Bruce flowers much earlier than Methley?
I also have a young Satsuma but won’t know how well it sets fruit until after this spring
Do you have any problems with disease with Methley? Do you spray any pesticides?
I am virtually no spray in my garden and have read that Methley can be quite disease prone.
How is the fruit quality? Is there much tartness to it? I have also read that the fruit from Methley is pretty subpar. Bland sweetness, very mushy, unexciting.
I would say the Methley has had moderate issues with disease, I have had bacterial shot hole and 2 single strikes of black knot that were easily cut out. I spray copper at max strength with sticker after dormancy and going into spring and that has been a good solution for me
I do have to spray for Plum Curculio lest I wouldn’t get any fruit from my orchard and Methley is no exception
I like the fruit, the skin is very tart which you probably love or hate and the flesh is juicy and sweet, I wouldn’t call them bland but they are not the most intensely flavored plum. I have not found them to be mushy unless left to get overripe, when I like to eat them they are plump juice bombs
Cool. Well perhaps we can trade some scions next year. I’m thinking I’m going to sacrifice Bruce for the real estate he’s occupying and keep AURosa and Santa Rosa for at least another couple seasons. I did have Methley until I ran her over with the mower last fall. It was planted for all of two months. Lol. Oops.
At the time I didn’t really care because I had heard so much bad about the disease and fruit quality.
What do you spray for curculio? I have bees, that is one reason I don’t spray but alas my trees are also mostly youngster non bearing age. I may eventually have to cautiously spray something.
I have a bottle of liquid Sevin and Eight I rotate. Thus far I have only had to spray for PC which is after petal fall so I haven’t had to worry about the bees. Timing is everything though, I missed optimal timing last year and they took out a few trees worth of fruit
Google tells me it is zeta-cypermethrin and permethrin
I don’t notice a difference, both have worked just fine on PC. I picked up both as it has been said on here best practice is to rotate insecticides which makes sense to me
Do you worry about ingesting pesticides like that? I know that’s a loaded question as there are chemical and BS in everything at the grocery these days but part of my fruit growing journey has been based out of striving to avoid and reduce exposure to these types of chemicals.
Damn, I can’t even spray my AURosa tree even if I wanted to. The beehive is right next to it. Hindsight is 2020
