Mirabelle Plums - Are they worth planting?

General Fruit Growing
21

I saw it on their website but was too slow to order for this year. Which varieties did you get on your combo tree?

22

I found them all very boring, they lack acid compared to other plums. And for jam I would prefer a Damson by a mile. It could be they need a cooler climate compared to mine…

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23

Mirabelle is not the sweetest Euro I have. Brix is around 25. Coe’s Golden Drop pushed brix over 30 in the right condition.

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24

I don’t think they guarantee variety. That has been the downside I have found with many multigrafted tree offers I have found online. Plenty of potential kinds but no guarantee on what you are doing to get. With the 4 in 1 you know you will get 4/5 kinds from Raintree though and I would assume that if you are like me you would get all kinds unless you are super unlucky.

25

Interestingly enough that was not even mentioned on the sweetest plums. The google claims the sweetest plums to be either mirabelle or bubblegum. What is the acid on Coe’s Golden Drop? Maybe it has a higher brix but the acid balances it out. That is why I strayed away from damson plums despite hearing good things about it. I hear damson are tart while I like sweet stuff. I don’t mind sweet with tart but will not go for just tart.

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26

It is better to read about the fruit you are interested in from people like us here who do not have ulterior motive to promote any fruit.

Coe does not have acid to balance its sweetness but its sweetness is not simple sweet. There is more to it. I would say it is flavorful. Coe is a bit late ripening for me. Some years, it does not fully ripen so I am not endorse it fully for zone 6a.

I stop reading description of fruit from most nurseries.
First, they copy from one another.
Secondly, when they are wrong, they all wrong.
Thirdly, they have ulterior motives to promote whatever they sell so their descriptions are exaggerated.
I am sure there are more reasons.

A few nurseries I care to read descriptions of their fruit are Fedco and ACN.

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27

I put in an order for one so maybe we will see how they taste compared to Mirabelle in a few years. Now I will have 4 in 1 mirabelle, Stanley, Green Gage, Bavays Green Gage and Toes Golden Drop so I should have plenty of sweet euro pears to compare to.

28

You are in zone 5. Growing Coe’s is pushing it.

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29

I figured given you claim you can have a hard time with it in Maryland. Worth a try since I am a lot sunnier and drier than you despite the shorter season. Funnily enough the Arbor Day foundation claims me to possibly be zone 6 while other websites claim zone 5.

30

I bought a French Plum tree from Trees of Antiquity. This one: French Plum – Trees of Antiquity

I have a few questions for the fine folks of the forum:

  1. Does anyone know what kind of French Plum this is?

  2. It’s listed as self-fertile. But If you had to pick 1 other tasty variety to graft onto it down the road (to also help with pollination), which one would you pick?

I’m in MA zone 6b

31

Maryland is Scott’s state. I am in MA.

If you have early spring and hot summer, you have a chance.

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32

Exactly!

This forum is, by far, the best source for objective information on fruit varieties.

Don’t trust catalog descriptions!

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33

I’ve had mirabelles at 30 brix. My gage gets sweeter than them though, off the scale sometimes.

@scottfsmith I think you’d find the ones grown in cooler climate to be boring too.

34

Low acid makes fruit seem sweeter.

35

And mirabelles are both low acid and high brix.

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36

I have two mirabelle plums i could send u a few sticks to graft, its not a plum worth sacrificing to much space for, so if u put it on top of one of your other plums would be my go.

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37

I have one growing here in z4b Maine, de Nancy I believe. It’s on myro and hasn’t fruited yet even though it’s close to 10 years old since I grafted it. Last chance this year, I’m going
To start top working it over to other plum varieties that have proven themselves here!

38

I have many varieties of mirabelles and for the most part they all taste the same just different ripening times. I don’t enjoy them for fresh eating they are just sweet but nothing to balance that out. However they are great for baking due to the lack of juice, they won’t make your baked goods soggy. I tried making jam with them and there was almost no liquid.

Damson are great for cooking and baking, although tart when fresh. All my plums have their own purposes so I love them all.

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39

I have so many trees ripening over time will almost be a must. Either that or some way to preserve the fruit.

40

I have Geneva and Parfume de September . They are very similar and among my favorite plums. I also have Opal, which some consider a Mirabelle, maybe because of its small size. Geneva ripens one or two weeks earlier than PDS. Opal is ready at least a couple of weeks ahead of Geneva. All three are among my favorite Euro plums and they perform well in my climate. PDS has been biennial for me.

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