Plum

Profile

Family

Rosaceae

Habit

Tree

Height

11 m

Spread

10 m

Growth

medium

Lifespan

120 years

First yield

after 5 years

Hardiness

zone 5–9

Shade tolerance

partial shade

Soil

Sand, Silt, Loam, Clay

Soil moisture

semi-dry – very moist

pH

6 – 7.5

Synonyms

Pflaumenbaum

Planned in gardens

4×

Flowering & harvest

Times apply to the northern hemisphere in a temperate climate and shift with altitude and cultivar.

Uses

Edible: Fruit and seeds with 20% oil content, whether raw or dried, yield around 552 kcal per square meter, with an output of 12 tons per hectare. The flowers and resin are suitable for salads.

Medicinal: Dried fruits have laxative properties, and the bark can reduce fever.

Other uses: Dyeing: Leaves are colored green, fruits are tinted gray-green, and the bark is dyed yellow. Resin acts as a glue. The seeds have oil. The wood is tough, dense, fragile, and challenging to dry, shrinking significantly and prone to cracking. Ideal for woodturning.

Growing

Plums thrive in well-drained, moisture-retaining soil and prefer a sheltered location. They do well in partial shade but bear more fruit in sunny spots, especially in loamy soil with some lime content. The pH of the soil should range between 6 and 6.5. Cultivated widely in temperate regions for their edible fruits, plums come in various varieties that yield fresh fruit from late July to November or December. While most types are self-fertile, some need cross-pollination, and a few are partially self-sterile. In limited spaces or challenging climates, plums can be grown against walls, with sunny south- or west-facing walls being ideal for most varieties. Believed to be a hybrid of P. spinosa and P. cerasifera with chromosome doubling, plums do not cross with Japanese plums, P. salicina. Plums thrive in a continental climate, with mild winters leading to earlier flowering but posing a risk of frost damage to blossoms. The best fruiting occurs away from the western side of the region. Plum trees generally have shallow roots and tend to form runners if the roots are harmed. Plants in this genus are highly vulnerable to the honey fungus.

Propagation

Seeds need a period of 2-3 months of cold treatment before planting, ideally right after they mature in a cool environment. It's recommended to sow stored seeds early in the year in a cold frame to protect them from pests. Germination may be slow, sometimes lasting up to 18 months. Once seedlings are big enough, transfer them to individual pots. Let them grow in a greenhouse or cold frame during their first winter and then plant them outdoors in late spring or early summer the following year. For propagation, take cuttings from semi-ripe shoots with a heel in July/August in a cold frame. Alternatively, take softwood cuttings from strong plants in spring to early summer in a cold frame. Layering should be done in spring.

Notable

Special features: Hybrid [Cherry plum (P. cerasifera) x Blackthorn (P. spinosa)]. Other subspecies include: Plum (subsp. domestica), Oat plum (subsp. insititia), Half plum (subsp. intermedia), Sweet plum (subsp. italica), Spilling plum (subsp. pomariorum), Ziparte plum (subsp. prisca), Mirabelle plum (subsp. syriaca). Brought to Central Europe from the Orient by Charlemagne. Propagation: Seeds, cuttings, root suckers, and grafting.

Origin & habitat

Europe to western Asia. Naturalized. A hybrid of P. spinosa x P. cerasifera divaricata.

Found in a variety of environments, such as arid slopes, wet floodplains, lush forests, and productive hillsides, primarily on calcareous soils.

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