North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[derry walsh <derrywalsh1@gmail.com>]

'Umeboshi' aka 'Prunus mume' is actually aka 'Japanese flowering apricot'.

I think you need two different varieties to get fruit, plus pollinators 
plus warm weather at bloom time and we rarely put that all together at 
bloom-time.

I have Beni shi don (rosy pink) and Rosemary Clarke (white) beside one 
another and I get fruit, but not a lot.

VanDusen Gardens has quite a few Beni shi don trees (more than 20 years 
old), but no pollenizers so no fruit.

I have Kobai - sparse blooms, no fruit to date (about ten years).

I also have two unnamed varieties: one pink and one white.

The white one is massed with blossoms and bees at bloom-time but no 
fruit to date (also about ten years). The pale pink one has masses of 
blossoms and one fruit this year.

The local Japanese pick them when they are still hard and unripe and 
soak them in a brine solution for a few months.

I would say you should have your blood pressure monitored before eating 
them. If you are vulnerable/sensitive to salt, your BP will rise 
horrendously.

In my experience, when the fruit is allowed to ripen, it is very soft 
and bland.

Derry Walsh
Aldergrove,
south coastal B.C.



On 5/30/2013 11:51 AM, Mark Lee wrote:
> Mike,
> I too have an umeboshi plum tree. It blooms early in the season, but never
> produced any fruit. I planted my tree 3 years ago. How long did it take for
> you to get fruit? Do you know the variety of umeboshi and what nursery it
> came from?
> -Mark, Seattle