Satsuma plum

General Fruit Growing
#19

That comment was from last year. I think the main problem in retrospect is I did not thin enough, it was a huge load. It was so big that the tree took a bit of a break this year making many fewer blooms. I had other years where I did not thin enough and they were still very tasty, but the tree seems to have gotten overworked last year.

This year I am seeing some overworked trees relative to cicada damage. Fruits are much smaller on some trees compared to where they usually are this time of year. This is not on all trees, just some.

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#20

Hi guys. I have both Satsuma and Mariposa fruiting in my orchard for over 6-8 years.
I agree that you can say that my climate is suitable because it resembles the California climate, etc…
I say only one thing
Satsuma variety is a plum “chestnut” (absolutely mediocre from my point of view).
Their improved variety Mariposa, is a true plum wonder (in every way).
This is my opinion after harvesting both varieties for several years.

Mariposa is a marvel and Satsuma is a variety of the heap.

Of course , I admit all the criticisms .
But my experience in my orchard makes me say this.

Regards
Jose

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#21

I had Mariposa and it was not up to Satsuma. It was not all that different overall. Purple Heart is another similar plum. All three are very good plums but for me I have had the best fruit from Satsuma. I took out Mariposa a few years ago but I should add it again at some point since it is later. I have both Laroda and (Weeping) Santa Rosa for a similar reason, they are similar tasting but Laroda is a few weeks later.

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#22

Hi Scott, I also have the Laroda, and Weeping Santa Rosa varieties in my orchard (I really like plums and pluots).
And both are very good, especially the Laroda variety.
A question .
You don’t have available in nurseries for hobbyists, the Crimson Glo plum variety, which is from Zaiger?

This plum

  • Crimson Glo

https://patents.google.com/patent/USPP12856P2/en

Crimson Glo Plum

It is a true plum delight (from my point of view), it is a red flesh plum , very sweet and with hints of strawberry and red fruit flavor.

It is one of my favorite plums and in Spain it is for sale in nurseries for hobbyists.
And like this variety, many others from Zaiger that no comment on them in the forum ( for example Late Blue , etc…) .
Regards
Jose

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#23

This is what mine look like. In the first pic you can see Satsuma and it’s leaves. In the second pic you can see the Emerald Beaut tree that it’s grafted onto. The Beaut leaves are normal green. The Satsuma is in the background.

Is this typical of Satsuma?

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#24

Hi Dave, I would like to tell you two things about your two plums (I hope to coincide with the opinion of the rest of the colleagues).

We start with the Satsuma variety.
Look at these are the leaves of my Satsuma plums (I have two and they are both legitimate).

Satsuma plum leaves 003
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And regarding the Emerald Beaut plum, I see the fruit excessively round, and it should have a heart shape like this

Photograph taken from the internet

Emerald Beaut Plum

Emerald Beaut photograph of my harvest

Emerald Beaut Legitimate

I tell you this, because there was an error in a nursery, and they sold the variety of pluot Emerald Drop for the variety of plum Emerald Beaut (I was one of those affected and had to re-graft this variety)

Look at this thread

And I think you can be another of those affected.

Regards
Jose

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#25

Thanks Jose. Yes I am aware of the Emerald Beaut/Drop issue. You are correct my tree is most likely Emerald Drop. It is consistent with the shape and earlier ripening window.

I just have a habit of calling it Beaut since that is what it was sold to me as.

As for Satsuma, not sure why mine is red. Maybe it’s not variety related, but a problem with the tree.

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#26

Yep Dave, you most likely have a phosphorus or magnesium deficiency in that plum tree.
The phosphorus and magnesium deficiency in plum trees causes red and brownish spots on the leaves.

Look at this photo with a plum tree, with a phosphorus deficiency.

deficit de Fosforo
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Regards
Jose

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#27

Jose, why do you think it would only effect one limb of the tree I stead of the entire tree?

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#28

Many of the Zaiger selections are available for commercial growers only here. Some people have joined to make large orders on the forum to get these commercial ones, maybe not recently though.

For me I am not a big Zaiger fan so no big deal on missing it.

I was out looking at my Satsuma this evening and thought I would share a picture of what I think is a ripe one. They are red for a very long time and I think most people are picking them out of the optimal zone. If they are underripe they are sour and boring, and if they are overripe they have a texture of jelly and not much flavor. In between they are awesome.

My guide for ripeness is the bloom just starts to come off the bottom end. Mine are generally not quite ripe yet but here is a small bug-bitten one that is ripe:

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You can see a small bit right at the bottom there that is all purple, no white bloom right around the blossom end. That means it is ripe. Even though this plum was stunted by a bug it tasted great.

If it has a white bloom all over the bottom end it is not yet ripe, and if the bloom is off most of the plum it is overripe.

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#29

And I ate an Early-Magic plum that surpasses Satsuma yesterday, warm and almost over-ripe, it still had a touch of meatiness and acid kick along with about 18 brix, I would guess- the highest of any J.plum I’ve ever grown.

Who’s the better singer, Aretha Franklin, Billy Holiday or Beyoncé Knowles? Or for guitarists, Hendrix, Mclaughlin or Eric Clapton? Maybe one of them played a concert you saw in your town that was like a religious experience.

I realize you modify you judgements with words like “for me” so you know what I’m saying, but I think we should be careful about rating varieties because every tree, site, tree management method (pruning, thinning, and possibly irrigation) and especially palate is different. People tasting the same fruit at fruit tastings all have their own personal experiences with each piece of fruit and evaluations fluctuate between testers. I had a customer compare a Shiro to an Early Magic two days ago who preferred the Shiro and others who think Methely (well thinned) is the best thing they’ve ever tasted.

People who are constantly eating and evaluating fruit have jaded palates- I’m a fruit snob.

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#30

Thanks for posting this great tip. I love the ones with the cinnamony/clove flavor, but cannot consistently find them. In the past, I think I haven’t picked them at the right time. This year, when my harvest ripens I will feel more confident on picking them using this trick.

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#31

Does mine look like Satsuma to all of you? First time fruiting, not ripen yet, not sure what cultivar it is, but I think it might be Satsuma

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#32

I like Aretha and Eric…:sunglasses:

#33

Yes, but did you watch this- All I Could Do Was Cry - Beyoncé Knowles (Cadillac Records) - YouTube

This movie forced me to respect Beyonce as a generational talent when I had thought she was more a Red Delicious.

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#34

I actually acquired some Crimson Glo scion wood this year. The grafts seem to have taken well to a Shiro tree, maybe I’ll get to try one next year. Didn’t really know anything about it, got it from somebody on the west coast who had some scion wood for sale on Facebook last winter. Glad to hear it might be a winner, but we’ll see how it does in my less than optimal conditions with cold winters and too much humidity and precipitation. However, August and September are usually good for ripening fruit. June and July are a toss up. We always have about 3 weeks during that period with way too much rain, and the timing of those 3 weeks varies from year to year.

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#35

Alan, you are not a Snob, and I absolutely agree that it is absolutely necessary to properly carry out fruit trees work (proper pruning, thinning, etc …), in order to obtain the best quality of fruits (the weather is a parameter as we can’t handle ).
And I also agree that personal tastes and opinions are like the ass, and we each have our own (celebrate Clint Eastwood quote).
But regardless of all this, there are always varieties of plums that are better valued than others.
An example of good quality are some of the plum varieties from the AURORA program at the University of Alabama (I can only speak judiciously of the AU-Rubrun variety because I have already eaten it from the harvest of my orchard , and it is delight), AU-Producer and AU-Roadside are two varieties that are newly grafted, and I have included them in my collection after seeing the quality of AU-Rubrun.

I would like to know if any of you have AU-Homeside and his opinion about it.

AU-Rubrun

AU-Rubrun

AU-Rubrun 2

You have named three good singers, and three good guitarists, but the question is:
Why only settle for three (or four, or five) hahahahahahaha, when can we have the complete discographies hahahahaha?

How could I resist having all this:

The catalog of plums from Orero nurseries is impressive

New varieties from Provedo nurseries are essential

And of course , how to avoid “peck” some of all these:

https://www.cot-international.eu/en/products-overview/8/plums

https://vivaizanzi.it/product-category/susino/

https://battistinivivai.com/it/piante-da-frutto/susino

I honestly cannot resist adding a few varieties of plums to my orchard, year after year (varieties of plums, cherries, peaches, etc …)
If you are a snob, I am an "absolutely crazy guy " hahahahahahaha.

Alan, you are the culprit.
I have looked now , in the catalog of the Italian nursery Zanzi, and there are two new varieties that I do not have in my collection:

  • Tasty Sweet (18/20 ° Brix)
  • Supercrimson

Add to the list of guitarists to Paco de Lucia and Keith Richards , these two plums trees , they will come to my home in winter , i’m so sorry hahahahahaha.

ztom, the surprise that you are going to take with the Crimson Glo plum variety "is capital letter ".
It is a very tasty plum (sweet and with many aromas of strawberry and red fruits), it is one of the best plums you are going to eat, avoid harvesting it overripe, as it loses a lot of quality.
I cannot tell you how it behaves in humid climates, since my region is very dry (little rain and very little humidity), but I can tell you that it is a variety that my friends grow very close to the coast in towns like Villajoyosa, or San Vicente del Raspeig (Alicante province), which are towns with high humidity and heavy rains in spring and summer, and this plum behaves wonderfully well in those towns on the Mediterranean coast.

Regards
Jose

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#36

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I’ve picked the first five or so from my 2nd leaf potted satsuma. it was a Costco purchase last year, on nemaguard, I think from burchell. has 50-60 left on the tree. crazy to think I’ve only had this tree 14 months or so

taste is phenomenal. I remember getting plums like these in Portland grocery stores as a kid, now it’s nothing but the same black amber plums taken successively from cold storage all summer and fall

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#37

My satsuma is pretty red.

#38

Tony, thanks for the input. Now, I have one more mysterious graft needs to figure out. I will post the pictures when it’s ripe

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