Plums are starting to get ripe.
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Spaced well, good job.Mine are green olives right now…
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THese are great photos and I’m jealous as can be! But PLEASE, everyone, let is know what variety of plums you show. Especially you, @tennessean ! I’m very curious to know what you have ripening already. The only ones I’ve had is Spring Satin Pluots and a few Bruce Plums-they are ripening this week. What are those beautiful plums you already harvested?
Hi Kevin!
Its supposed to be a Methley plum. The reason I say “supposed to be” is because I purchased the tree from Willis Orchards. As I am sure you know Willis often sends mislabeled trees. However it does have the characteristics of a Methey plum.
I planted the tree in 2010. Its had plums before this year but for the last 3 years it has not produced because of freeze/frost. It produced heavy this year though. Just did not thin it nearly enough. I am going to make jelly/jam out of the plums.
Hopefully I can keep the varmints away. Did see a fox squirrel with a red plum in its mouth running from the tree today in the rain.
Looks like its going to be a great year for fruit here. How is your orchard doing?
Hey Sam! Always nice to see a fellow Tennessean succeed like this- even if you are a good distance away. Methley, of course, is an early plum and does look like those so you may actually be one of the 3 people in history who got what they ordered from Willis! haha. I ordered from them several times back before I knew anything and I honestly don’t think they sent me a single correct tree- NOT ONE!!! It still bugs me that they continue to sell a regular domestic mulberry as Black Beauty when I know for a fact that myself and several others here have complained. So yea, I understand your doubts but yours does seem to fit.
You say you didn’t thin enough, and they do look a bit crowded but they also seem to have sized up well, so if you don’t get any limb breakage you might get away with that amazing fruit load. They are just Beautiful man! If your PC pressure is even close to mine, and I’m sure it is, then you must have done a good job with your spray regiment this year. I find plums in my orchard get hit 2-3 times harder than peaches- it is very hard to get nice clean plums like those.
Anyway, I’m very sincere when I say those photos are very impressive to me. Large, clean fruit like that- especially plums- just don’t come easy in our area. I have a Methley myself on its 4th leaf and this year it bloomed like crazy but I didn’t get a single fruit- never have. I have countless polinators nearby so I have no idea what is going on. I find it hopeful that you said yours didn’t produce for a few years.
Good luck with the animals! Great job my friend.
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Not sure what mine is. I am thinking Santa Rosa.
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I didn’t need to space mine. The wind and the birds did it for me.
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They look like my Methley. Your doing much better growing plums than I am.
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Nice tree and fruits! Thumbs up!
I now have a role model to follow regarding thinning. If you look at my plum tree you would probably laugh. I should have thinned 5 times more. Now I know how much space I should keep them apart by looking at your photos and results.
Thanks for sharing!
I run out of steam after awhile on thinning plums. Now the “low bar” I try to hit is that no plums touch when they are fully mature. I don’t quite get there on my over-setters but it is a clear bar to aim for anyway. I have not noticed a big hit to the flavor compared to the recommended “every 4 inches” or whatever kind of thinning, although the fruits are a little smaller. The pruning method also affects how much thinning you need, my plums are only fruiting in a 3’ or so vertical plane. So I think I can have a bigger set given that. If you compare espalier apples to standards in commercial orchards you will see a huge contrast in how much thinning was done, the espaliers probably have more than double the crop per cubic foot. That is because every leaf is getting great sun exposure.
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