I think you should keep the Catalina plum. We picked these yesterday. They are small and look sad so I was going to make jam today until I tasted one. It was firm and sweet, a little tart at the skin that I removed. They will stay in the fridge for fresh eating. The bigger ones on other trees usually taste good but they are not ripen yet.
5 Likes
Your plums Looking very good and delicious.
Normally nurseries around here do not sell Catalina Plum tree. I got one from the food store outlets. They get their products from California. Hopefully nursery didnāt give wrong label on my Catalina as Emerald Beaut and take 3 years to find out . Too bad.
My Catalina Plum tree isnāt too big yet. I bought it only whip in last April 19.
2 Likes
I am sorry I canāt give you an answer. My place in southern California is mostly dry and hot year round, except for a few rainny days in winter, so black knot is not a problem.
Maybe @Vincent_8B can help.
2 Likes
@wfwalton
I am in zone 8b Seattle and my Catalina plum only a couple years old. So far itās growing very well without much diseases. But I donāt think itās very disease resistant. I think itās just as normal as Japanese plum. Nothing special to me.
2 Likes
This year 7.30.23. First time my Catalina plum set fruit (only 2 fruits). Updating again my Catalina plum tree growing upright shape (over 12 ft height) very clean from diseases and the fruits changing color from green to deep red, still waiting for tasing. Below its today picture.
8 Likes
Updating after 5 years. My Catalina plum has some fruits. Today 8.15.24 one plum fell off the tree. Itās very sweet, juicy and delicious. No tartness at all. Catalina plum growing well in Puget sound Seattle areas.
8 Likes
@Vincent_8B when did this bloom and what other plums in your orchard bloomed at the same time?
1 Like
My Catalina bloomed the same time with Nadia, Sweet treat and Greengageā¦
Full bloom about 4.15. Itās very high quality plum. I am happy to have it.
1 Like
Looks kind of similar to Geopride pluot, which my wife really likes. She might like that one too since you say it is sweet without tartness.
1 Like
So many times I would like to remove this tree fortunately not happening yet and now I really like it. The fruits look dirty back very huge size. I might weigh take brix measuring next time. Catalina is high tasting test score plum at DWN and happy it performs well in NW.
1 Like
This year seems like a great one for stone fruit. Iām not going to assume that things that did well this year will do that regularly. But thatās a good sign.
This is the first year Iām getting good Geopride and Emerald Drop on the same tree thatās had many years of great Splash.
1 Like
We had warm and dry (not wet) Spring. My neighbor his Pluot had no fruit every year before but having good amount of fruits this year. Thatās why I donāt know for sure how my Catalina set fruit yet. Itās on not very good sunny spot, NE side of the house and getting taller than the house now. Last year had 2 fruits. This year over 20. Big pruning every year. Keep it from now on.
@ramv while a shiro is still on the tree, what are the signs that indicate the flavor is already deteriorated?
@Vincent_8B how would you rank Catalina vs Shiro? With respect to Catalina,.when did your shiro bloom and ripen?
1 Like
I donāt have Shiro plum in my numbers of plum trees on my property. If you like summer juice, mild sweet tasting and reliable setting fruit, Shiro plum is the best choice. If you refer about fruit quality I would choose Catalina plum is better. I am still learning more about them especially ripping time. Below my Catalina plum, Vincentās prune plum , Dāente 707 prune plum and Splash Pluot.
4 Likes
That is a lovely plate of plums.
2 Likes
Many growers put down Shiro with comments such as bland, or juice bag. I think that is doing it a great injustice. Weāve had two summers in a row in the PNW with very dry weather during Shiroās growing season. Iāve thinned and pruned my Shiro hard over the last two years. I also stopped giving supplemental water while the plums are ripening. This has made for a great improvement in fruit size and quality.
The last two hot dry summers my Shiro have been awesome when thinned. The main thing with Shiro is they have a very short window before the quality quickly degrades. If you harvest them before they turn the deep yellow color that most would consider fully ripe the quality is actually much better. You lose a little bit of the extra sweetness they attain when the color darkens, but the flavor is much more complex and satisfying.
Once they darken they have more sweetness, but that is it, nothing but a one dimensional sweet taste remains. This is the stage where many growers harvest Shiro, and then complain of them being exploding juice bags. The window for peak flavor and texture is short before Shiro begins to quickly degrade. However, when growing conditions are favorable, the crop is heavily thinned, and Shiro is harvested at just the right time it is a top notch plum IMO.
Shiro also has the bonus of being relatively disease resistant, and one of the most consistent producers of any of the Japanese varieties. It is a rare year when Shiro has no crop, when other Japanese trees are barren because of a late cold snap.
Now that Iām retired, my regard for Shiro has grown greatly. When I only had the opportunity to sample Shiro when it was over set and over ripe while vacationing, I was not overly impressed either. Now that I have the time to tend the Shiro tree and harvest the fruit only at its peak, my opinion of Shiro has greatly improved.
I think Shiro often gets a bad rap that is undeserved.
4 Likes
Hi Vincent what is the fruit on the upper left corner. I had a fruit that is very sweet and everybody loved it but i donāt have a tag, it looks the same. It was really sweet but it is full of meat and not too juicy. Is it the same?
1 Like
Hi John
Thatās DāEnte French prune plum. This year they are not much but very good size plum. Waiting to taste again soon.
1 Like
@tbg9b when is it too early to harvest shiro? If harvested when still greenish yet soft, will it still attain a sweet and complex flavor you mention if left to ripen on the table? Or does it need to be strictly yellow with no greenish shade even when already soft at harvest time?