We tried Santa Rosa and it did not survive here beyond a few years, others like Ozark Premier are bud sensitive but survive. There is a lot of space between zone 6 (peaches) and zone 3 which have few decent Japanese plums. Last year was difficult here as well, due to warm winter, cool wet spring, and extremely wet summer .
When we started here in 1995 the weather was cooler, many years we got to 25 below zero, much fewer warm winter spells, and much drier weather. The “hardy” Japanese plums fruited well unless we had a hard spring freeze which happened a couple of times.
We have an irrigation system and I have not turned it on in 6 yrs, We used to drain the ponds every year in the old days. The weather now (with climate change) is really to wet for our clay soils.
So what I want to say is there are good Japanese plums which will fruit in zones 5 and even 4 where peaches do not do well, not all but some. The american hybrids and Russian Myros are very hardy, and some are good, some not,but you can get good Japanese plum well beyond where peaches do well.
Brookgold is hardy up here in zone 2,. There is a bit of a problem with getting a true Brookgold, for some reason many of them turn out to be a red plum. Mine is red as well, I like the term “Brookgold curse”
My sister in law’s is a golden plum and a beautiful large bush. The interesting thing about her tree is that it is not pollinated with another plum so I am assuming her nanking, evans, or sand cherry is doing the pollination.
Eric, could you recommend some good hardy plums that ripen early? I’m in zone 5 Alaska with mild enough temps, but a short growing season. I’ve planted some of the usual line-up such as Black Ice, Kuban Comet, Pembina, Ptitsin 5, Zapie, La Crescent, and killed off Methley and Toka, but everything is too young to produce so far. Also interested in early hardy European Plum recommendations. Thank you.
Finally after 6 years since we discussed about Brooks gold plum. Now I saw them again and decided to get one. Let’s how it doing in Seattle climate. @DennisD Do you have any idea brooks gold plum is Japanese plum or Japanese-American hybrid plum?
Some website information spell its name differently usually Japanese-American hybrid plum can stay very low temperature to zone 3. Hopefully will have some fruits in the next few years.
It’s a beautiful blossom! One online source calls it P domestica:
“ ‘BROOKS GOLD’ BROOKS GOLD PLUM
Prunus domestica
Deciduous fruit tree
Large, oval habit
Golden skin with yellow flesh
Sweet and juicy flavor
Good for eating fresh and preserving
Needs a pollinator”
I notice your tag says P Salicina, then again online there appears to be one named Brook Gold rather than Brooks Gold. So I think you will just have to see how it acts. If it’s flowering now like my Europeans varieties are, then I am inclined to think it’s European, P domestica, since they are many weeks later flowering than the Japanese trees. When I left home this week I noted that my Europeans were in full blossom or just beginning to blossom. My wild Goose was still in balloon stage.
So to answer your question Vincent, I cannot tell you which genus Brooks Gold belongs to, but it acts like P domestica.
Dennis
Hi Dennis you right. Today 4.14.24 most of my Japanese plum or Pluerry done their bloom and time for European plum blossom. But in the tag my new tree said it’s Japanese plum, but blooming the same time with European. It’s really strange. Other than that some information said it’s fruit color is red. In the tag it’s yellow. Do you think maybe the tree just come here from somewhere else so makes it bloom so late. Sound like it’s really Japanese plum. One website said it Japanese American hybrid. Wait and see. Thank you so much for your time Dennis.
To the question of other yellow Japanese plums, we are growing the old Luther Burbank heirloom Wickson Plum.
I talked to an 84 year old gardener here in our north Texas town near Wichita Falls about 5 years ago & he raved about the “yellow candy plum” he & his late cousin grew that thrived on their properties when he was young. I researched marketing advertisng of fruit trees being sold in the 1940s and 1950s – the yellow Wickson plum was described “sweet as candy.” Womack Nursery Growers in DeLeon TX still raises and sells Wickson, as does Bob Wells Nursery Growers in east Texas and Stark Bros. Larry Don Womack confirmed my research.
2024 is our first harvest year. It’s a beautiful tree - zone 7b. This tree has withstood temperature swings from -5 but more importantly summers are 60-90 days straight of 102-115F highs (it’s Texas - we DON’T cool down at night!) Self-fertile although Stanley Italian Plum is planted next to it.
It may not be a tree for the US NE however warmer climates may want to consider this tried and true heirloom.
Welcome to the forum Becky! Thanks for the information. I have seen Wickson advertised in other northern nurseries so maybe it does well in the Dakotas. I don’t have it so keep us posted once you try your new fruits.
Dennis
Kent, Wa
Yes. I saw that too.
Info from an other website:
Brookgold is named for the golden colour of its skin and flesh, as well as the research station where it was developed – the Crop Diversification Centre South, near Brooks, Alberta. It is an early season freestone plum that is very cold hardy - said to handle zone 2a.
It is a Japanese x American plum hybrid, and can cross-pollinate with other Japanese plums, or native American (Prunus americana) or Canadian (Prunus nigra) plums.
I grow I think it’s a Burbank plum Inca. It’s pretty good for a yellow. I would be completely happy with Flavor Queen if it just set more fruit. Thanks for pointing this one out. I will look for it.
Nice to hear that. I grafted one branch of Inca onto my Satsuma and fingers crossed it seems to have taken and is flowering. Let’s see if I get any fruit set this year.
