Anyone else experimenting with crossing wild plums? I am playing around with chickasaw crosses.
I’ll also try incorporating my Munson plums in a few years if all works out. They are tiny seedings right now.
Last year I grafted Allred plum into a really isolated Chickasaw thicket. I intend to grow out a few seedlings from the fruit. Assuming their blooms coincide.
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@coolmantoole has a thread about Chickasaw plum varieities —>
What does Allred taste like? I think I grafted it last year from Masonville orchards.
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I haven’t tasted it yet. I chose to experiment with it due to the red leaves making it easier to recognize the crosses from Chickasaw pits. I’m assuming at least some will have red leaves.
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I have Chickasaw plums I am hoping will be pollinated by one or more of my hybrid plums. I have Shiro, Alderman, Superior, Black Ice, and Lacrescent. I am hoping to graft Nadia, Hollywood, and Toka this Spring. I have two Chickasaw in the ground, but one may become a rootstock. I bought them as a last resort for pollinating my plums. If they set fruit, I may germinate them just to see what comes up.
All of those would make interesting crosses. For me I just hope to get something unique and disease tolerant.
I might ad some Chickasaw to cross with my Sierras (Prunus subcordata).
Last Fall I was in Slovakia at our factory. They have wild plums all over the grounds. I picked both Red and Black types. Also some wild apricots.
I placed the seeds in the frig to harden them off. Cracked their shells and are now in dirt in the kitchen. Three weeks now and no sign of sprouting.
I planted them with the idea they may be tough trees requiring “no spray” routine.
In Eastern Europe, many people collect the wild fruit to make spirits. Well they take the fruit to a legal distiller and get their share back. Many people can be seen along country roads.
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That’s pretty cool. I’m sure the same principles apply in Europe, the wild plants are better adapted and require little to no care.