@nil … I had jplums in the past … dont know the varieties at this point… but they both started blooming each spring mid to late Feb. In 12 years we got 2-3 very small crops and one good crop.
I am planting these on a north slope… and hope that slows them down some.
Good luck to you.
Hey Trev, just had a crazy thought. Why not espalier several long cordons along the ground ( like 12 inches high) so you could cover them just like you do your lettuce beds when it frosts late. If you found a few varieties that were really good n it might be worth the effort.
@SoMtHomestead … that is a thought… but i worry that out in my field the deer, and other critters would wreck them.
Hey all… my Shiro arrived today. I ordered it from Bob Wells Nursery… which i have used in the past and had good luck with.
Here is what i got…
The tree was taller than the box which was quite large… so they had to prun it to fit.
What is left has a few whimpy limbs left on it.
Not impressed with the smallish ball of roots.
I pruned it a little and ploped it into my compost pile for the day… and watered it good. Will plant it out in my field tomorrow.
Hopefully it lives… will see.
TNHunter
Well today Saturday Feb 11 2023… got my AU Rosa and Shiro planted in ground. 2 in 1 planting 3.5 ft apart… That location slopes to the north. Hope it slows down the spring bloom some. The AU Rosa looks near ready to pop some blossoms soon already.
Perhaps it will be later next year after acclimation.
That shiro was shy of roots… gave the planting hole a good dose of bone meal… and a few other goodies. Hope it makes it.
Maybe shorten the Shiro or prune off the lower branches so there’s less leaves for the roots to support? Or just leave it and see how it does. I’m not a plum expert.
@evilpaul … think i will tweak the shiro a bit more. The lack of roots is concerning.
I will take off those bottom two for sure… deer food anyway.
May just leave 3 or 4 limbs in the top to develop into scaffolds but keep them short initally… hopefully what that little dab of roots can support…
I have about 3/4 a wheelbarrow full of compost worked into those planting holes and extra under that Shiro… hoping it encourages more rooting.
I have a French Plum coming from Trees of Antiquity this Spring. One of the reasons I picked it was because it was listed as self-fertile and my fruit tree area is sort of limited. Eventually I’ll graft it with other varieties. It’s not a much talked about cultivar… I hope it’s a good variety for z6b MA.
My little shiro that is skimpy on roots is pushing out some green on each limb.
AU Rosa in the background is about 1/4 into blooming now.
Hope it blooms later once acclimated to this north slope location.
I’m new to the group but have been reading in the background for a while. I was reading this thread and gained a lot of great information. I’ve been trying to decide on plum tree varieties for my E.TN zone 7b orchard and came across this paper from Auburn on their AU varieties. This is on the AU Rosa but it covers all their other ones too. Give disease resistance, bloom time, harvest dates, etc. Thought it might be useful to some folks. https://aurora.auburn.edu/bitstream/handle/11200/2086/1300CIRC.pdf?sequence=1
