GARDENING:
Plant trees now and enjoy the fruits of your labour next year
We’Re enjoying a vintage year for plums. Frosts were rare at blossom time, rain came when needed and there was plenty of sun to sweeten fruits. People who decide to plant fruit trees usually go for apples, and that’s fine. But a plum, juicy, sun-warmed and freshly-picked is a joy. Besides, you can buy excellent British apples in supermarkets.
Plums are available, too. But British varieties are sold half-ripe and never have the juicy perfection of home-grown ones.
That’s why i’m planting a micro-orchard. There’ll be two apples — deep red spartan and mellow egremont Russet — alongside three plums.
i have decided on purple-skinned Blue Tit, the luscious Oullins Golden Gage and early- fruiting Opal. These, like the two apples, will be compatible for cross pollinating. That’s important for maximising yield.
PICK OF POLLINATORS
My choices are unashamedly old fashioned. There are exotic modern varieties including mongrels known as pluots and apriums which are plum-apricot crosses. They’re tasty — i tried some in Manhattan once.
But for me, it has to be tradi-tional plums ripe from the tree. some plum varieties are self-fer-tile but others must cross polli-nate to bear fruit. For that, they need a different but compatible variety close by. Oullins Gage and Opal for example are in pollination group 4, but are also self-fertile.
Victoria, Blue Tit and czar are self-fertile, too. But all plums yield more when they cross pollinate. Tree size and vigour depends on the rootstock to which they’re grafted. With a dwarfing stock such as Pixy you
can grow plums as cordons or small trees.
For bigger trees, go for a stronger rootstock such as st Julien. you can buy trees from
pomonafruits.co.uk, and from keepers-nursery.co.uk.
The cheapest tree is a first year ‘maiden’ or ‘whip’. That’s just a stick with roots and needs at least two more years before it will flower. First crop will be a year later. Ready-trained trees are more expensive but crop sooner.
Free-standing, naturally grown trees need barely any pruning. cordons and fan- trained specimens must be pruned reg-ularly to develop a framework.
ORCHARD DELIGHTS
Plums are surprisingly tough and will grow in most condi-tions. however, for best results choose a sunny, sheltered spot.
if planted in the ground they prefer moisture-retentive, silty soils. And although most varieties are hardy, all are sus-ceptible to blossom-time frost.
if you have an exposed spot, damsons would be a better alternative. Though suitable only for cooking they have excellent flavour and yield well. Varieties include Merryweather and Prune Damson.
Few pests and diseases affect plums. The plum moth appears as pinkish grubs in the centres of the mature plums. you can control it with pheromone traps. Plum aphid curls young leaves on the stem tips and can be cured with a winter tar wash.
your biggest headache will be dealing with surplus fruit. But as well as making jams, chutney or preserving, plums freeze well. Wash, halve and de-stone them. lay cut-sides up on a tray and freeze for two hours. Transfer the frozen plums to bags and return to the freezer.