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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] speaking of plums

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  • From: Charles Paradise <machelp@attglobal.net>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] speaking of plums
  • Date: Wed, 05 Jun 2002 12:06:40 -0500

They may yet bear fruit. But once you start with plums, I recommend planting
at least a dozen
varieties. I believe you need to create many different sources of pollen, in
order to realize
fruit set. Your choice in my opinion is whether to cut down your shiro and
santa rosa japanese
plums and plant something more reliably fruitful, or else to consider
yourself committed and add
many more varieties, and plant them closely together.

Think plum thicket. Notice the ''thick'' in the word ''thicket.''
In my plum thicket I have had for awhile Kahinta, South Dakota, Waneta,
native Kansas plum,
Sapa, Superior, Toka, NY 1502, AU-Amber, Robusto, Surprise and various
Americana seedlings.
This year I have added AU-Producer and the Ernest Dietrich plums. I consider
this a modest
number of varieties and more would be better. I get some set every year but
not always the same
varieties.
Shiro is one of the more fruitful varieties but tastes no better than a glass
of water.
Don't grow American or Japanese plums unless you're commiting to dozens of
varieties. Forget
them as standalone orchard trees. Standalones don't trade nearly enough
pollen tree to tree.
There are other choices: the Damson plums are supposed to be very
self-fruitful, if mild
tasting, but I've never grown them. Perhaps others have experience with
Damson [Prunus
Institia], Damson is a european plum, but a separate species from the other
european plums like
the Gages.
Charlie Paradise

mark wessel wrote:

> I have had a Shiro and Santa rosa plum in the ground and blooming for six
> years with no fruits. This year while blooming they were loaded with
> pollinators. Hundreds. No plums. Will they ever fruit?
> Mark





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