Page 20 - Simply Vegetables Winter 2024/25

Growing and Exhibiting Plums
This is a plan for you to produce a dish of plums to be ready for exhibition at the end of August. Although this is really beyond the end of the plum season but can be entered as “A Dish of Plums or “A dish of another fruit”, which is usually a dish of 6 fruits. This number would require a check with the Show secretary before entering the show.
If you have any plums growing in your garden, they are likely to be Victoria’s as no established garden was complete without them! The Victoria plum season lasts from late July until September, with most fruit ripening over a 1–2-week period in August, during which time the tree can be picked regularly. Plums do not store well, so are best eaten right away. When exhibiting, stick to Victoria’s, they are a tried, tested and very popular dessert cultivar. The blossom has some frost resistance and can produce heavy cropping even in the north of England.
There are two main plum rootstocks
on which the cultivars are grafted. The
St Julien A root stock which grows 3 to
5m tall, depending on the soil. The Pixie root stock, producing dwarf trees with an eventual height of 2 to 3m and are often grown in a container. (there are some newer rootstocks available now so if you see some different names they are still likely to be
OK and most are semi-dwarfing or dwarf rootstocks – Ed)
Garden Care for plums during
the winter months
To promote the necessity of producing a stone, although the fruit may set, they may fail to mature if there is a lack of lime. If the soil pH is less than neutral adding lime at a rate of 230gms / square metre and scatter
on the ground below the tree to the extent of the spread of branches.
Winter gardening care – February
Plum trees blossom early in the year, where possible they can be planted against a wall in cold areas to protect against frost and cold winds.
Plums are surface rooting:
• Avoid deep cultivating around
established trees.
• They have an inclination to throw
suckers, these should be pulled off at
the roots.
• Mulch annually in spring using an
organic material such as farm-yard manure or well-rotted garden compost
fertile there will be no fruit, even following excessive flowering, unless the bees have been active.
After pollination, protect the developing fruit with either a regular spray or make
a mesh envelope around convenient branches, chosen for their prospect of producing a fruit sample for exhibition.
Summer gardening care –
Pruning and feeding
Prune plum trees in the summer, and don’t be afraid of lopping off some of the fruit.
When the young plums have finished establishing their stones, thin the fruit to 5cm apart along the branch.
Spread a few handfuls of Growmore
assisting with moisture retention and keeping the roots cool.
• Just before mulching, feed each tree with three handfuls of ‘blood, fish and bone’ fertilizer. These fresh nutrients will give the tree an extra lease
of life.
Plum trees blossom early in the year, where possible they can be planted against a wall in cold areas to protect against frost and cold winds.
fertilizer on the soil to provide a long-lasting supply of nutrients. Use with care not to encourage soft and sappy growth.
Summer pruning will mean you’re removing branches off your plum
tree when the fruit has already started to form. This is acceptable. Side-step
the temptation to under- prune as most plum trees produce too heavy a crop and damage the branches.
The centre of the tree should be left relatively open, remove branches
Winter Gardening
care – March
Where there are bird
pests, small trees have an
advantage. The trees can
be sprayed with a bud
protective spray or covered with fish netting or fleece which will also be an additional frost damage prevention.
and foliage so that plenty of sunlight can get to all fruiting wood and allow a flow
of air between the remaining branches and stems. Eliminate any crossing growth and low-hanging branches. Cut back this season’s growth off the main shoots to half their length, cutting just above a leaf.
Silver leaf disease. Is a fungal disease
to be avoided, it will penetrate the wood, killing the branches and eventually the tree. For the small producers, as there is no effective remedy, it is wise not to prune the trees in autumn or winter
Summer gardening care –
Preparing for harvest
Trees on either rootstock will need similar management.
Hopefully your tree will have been located where it will be protected from strong winds at pollination time as insects and bees stay in hiding when winds are gusting, and you need them to increase your fruit yield.
Plums have quite a high moisture demand, so keep your tree well-watered during periods of prolonged dry weather.
Preparing to exhibit your plums.
• Harvest with a stalk attached to each
fruit, but do not hold by the fruit as this will lead to down pointing owing to the fingerprints on the plum!
Spring Gardening care – Pollination
One of the first signs of spring, is plum trees blossom. Although Victoria is self-
Plum 'Early Laxton'
20 Simply Vegetables