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  • From: Charles Paradise <machelp@attglobal.net>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Beach Plum
  • Date: Wed, 08 Feb 2006 11:42:25 -0400

Yes Beach Plum has been discussed before. Can anyone find it in the archives?

Yes, Beach Plum even grown inland usually retains a distinct flavor that is memorable. There have been occasional complaints that some Beach Plums grown inland have had weaker tastes like Damson Plums. This may depend upon soil, or source of the particular beach plums planted.

I heartily agree with Dylan Ford when he wrote "I have encountered wild beach plum patches ... that bore fruit that was sweet and delicious right off the bush - really good, so I suspect there may be a range of flavors." But, for your jelly, I would expect the tartest and most intense-flavored bushes would be what will yield your best product.

In some locations there may be less bearing.
In some locations they are faithful bearers of rock hardiness, disease-resistance and resistance to insects - despite Henry Thoreau saying he saw plum curculio marks on beach plum fruit.

Lee Reich, can you remember the basket of my earliest beach plums I handed you to show during your talk at the New Hampshire 2003 NAFEX convention? Does anyone remember the basket of beach plums passed around during the talk, and sitting on display table? It said Beach Plums - try one. The 'earliest' is probably about average for a wild beach plum.

We have much better selections. During the 1980's Ken Turkington 33 Russel Hill Rd. Brookline NH and I accessed the 1940's named selections and visited wild patches in Massachusetts. And Ken grew out seed from. The heaviest bearing planting we have borders a blacktop road. I've got 25 tiny 1-yrs 2005 seedlings.

Lucky Pittman wrote: "the fruits hang well, actually will dry

on the plant - they almost never fall off. Nice little fruits"

But my diary says: "9/12/02 the blueberry-shaped beach plum has completely shattered and the fruit are on the ground. The 10-85 and mailbox are about ripe now." Again, VARIATION WITHIN THE SPECIES.

Richard Moyer asked: "Thanks for you post Lucky, that your beach plums are brown rot resistant. Anyone else seen that where you have brown rot pressure?"
Haven't seen a lot of it. When just ripe, where grown here, its clean 95% of it
"And what about black knot resistance?"
Never anywhere, anytime, have I seen black knot on beach plum naturally or planted.
"Borer resistance?"
Never seen a borer in a beach plum trunk. The trunks of most beach plums are short, anyway, compared to peach. On Plum Island [Newburyport, Massachusetts] beach plums more than 100 years old are only 3' tall. A strain from New Jersey [represented by the cultivar "Jersey"] has the height and shape of a peach.

I wish I had beach plum jelly to send. Why not buy a jar and try it? However, always verify the ingredients is not "damson or beach plum" otherwise you might not be getting the genuine. Near here a canner James Coutts & Son may be the only bottlers on the planet of beach plum juice, sweetend with honey. http://www.couttsspecialtyfoods.com/ Or at least they made it in the 1980's when I worked there. Coutts should have genuine beach plum jelly, they got it on trays from the Cape Cod Massachusetts.
Charlie Paradise

on the plant - they almost never fall off. Nice little fruits, and I'll


Jim Fruth wrote:

I half recall a thread about growing Beach Plum (Prunus maratima) but I
don't remember comments about flavor. Beach Plum is another suggestion I've
received to use for making jelly. Hartmann's Nursery has it in their
catalog this year. What do you think? Do you think customers would buy
Beach Plum jelly a second time?







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