Plums for cooking with

•   Category - Plum trees

• Using
• Growing
• Disease resistance
• Climate
• Identification
• Stock

Gardening skill

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Suitable for beginners11
Average21
Some needed3

Fruit tree categories

Almond trees2
Apple trees121
Apricot trees11
Cherry trees26
Cider apple trees14
Crab apple trees26
Damson trees10
Fig trees1
Hazel trees7
Japanese Plums2
Medlar trees3
Mirabelle trees6
Mulberry trees3
Nectarine trees6
Peach trees7
Pear trees28
Perry pear trees5
Plum trees35
Quince trees6
Saskatoon bushes3
Walnut trees5

Stock availabilitytop

Tree form

1-year27
2-year bush-trained22
Half standard18
Fan-trained7

Supplied as

Bare-root27
Pot-grown21

Height after 10 years

Small (dwarf)
Medium (semi-dwarf)21
Large (semi-vigorous)27
Full-size (standard)9

Rootstock

Brompton9
St.Julien27
VVA-121
Wavit11

Usingtop

Picking season

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Very early
Early6
Mid14
Late13
Very late2

Keeping

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Does not keep1
1-3 days21
1 week13
2-3 weeks
1-2 months
3 months or more

Uses

Good for eating fresh32
Good for cooking26
Good for juice
Good for cider

Cooking result

Puree3
Textured puree
Keeps shape

Growingtop

Planting position

Full sun essential
Full sun preferred25
Tolerates partial shade7
Tolerates north-facing shade2

Flowering group

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1
29
321
45
5
6

Self-fertility

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Self-fertile19
Partially self-fertile6
Not self-fertile10

Ploidy

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Diploid35

Pollinating others

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Good4
Average31
Poor

Vigour

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Weak growing2
Slightly small1
Average growth13
Slightly large4
Large14
Very large

Precocity

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Precocious2
Slow to start bearing1

Cropping

Heavy16
Good14
Light5

Fruit bearing

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Spur-bearer
Free-spurring
Partial tip-bearer
Tip-bearer

Fruit persistence

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Normal ripening31
Fruit drops when ripe
Ripens over a period3
Persistent

Bearing regularity

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Regular33
Biennial tendency1

Climatetop

Blossom frost-resistance

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Good resistance7
Some resistance
Susceptible

Can be grown in

Temperate climates35
Mild / damp climates6
Warm climates9

Disease resistancetop

General resistance

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Good15
Average14
Poor2

Suitable for organic

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Organic / no-spray culture12

Canker

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Very resistant2
Some resistance7
Neutral
Some susceptibility
Very susceptible1

Scab

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Very resistant
Some resistance
Neutral
Some susceptibility
Very susceptible

Mildew

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Very resistant
Some resistance
Neutral
Some susceptibility
Very susceptible

Silverleaf

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Very resistant1
Some resistance3
Neutral
Some susceptibility1
Very susceptible1

Fruit identificationtop

Country of origin

Belgium 2
Canada1
France 4
Germany 2
Norway1
Sweden 4
United Kingdom17
United States3

Period of origin

1500 - 1549
1550 - 15991
1600 - 1649
1650 - 1699
1700 - 1749
1750 - 17992
1800 - 18498
1850 - 18997
1900 - 19496
1950 - 19998
20002

Fruit colour

Blue - dark5
Green3
Green - light4
Orange flush1
Purple8
Purple - light2
Red6
Yellow5
Yellow / Orange1

• Plum trees
  

  Avalon

  Avalon is a large mid-season red/purple plum, similar to Victoria, with a very good flavour.  compare
  From £18.95 to £32.45
  Flowering: 2partly self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Belle de Louvain

  Belle de Louvain is a large purple culinary plum, useful because it can be grown on north-facing walls.  compare
  From £19.45
  Flowering: 3self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Blue Tit

  Blue Tit is a popular English dual-purpose plum, easy to grow, reliable cropping.  compare
  Flowering: 4self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Cambridge Gage

  Cambridge Gage is a reliable green gage, similar to Old Green Gage, with an excellent flavour.  compare
  From £18.45 to £54.95
  Flowering: 3partly self-fertile

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Coe's Golden Drop

  Coe's Golden Drop is a large oval gage from the 18th century, noted for its excellent flavour.  compare
  From £18.95 to £27.95
  Flowering: 2

  Pick: Very late-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Czar

  Czar is a traditional culinary plum, one of the easiest plums trees, will even fruit on north-facing walls.  compare
  From £18.45 to £54.95
  Flowering: 3self-fertile

  Pick: Early-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Denniston's Superb

  Denniston's Superb is a gage-like green plum, raised in New York in the 19th century.  compare
  From £18.45 to £32.45
  Flowering: 2self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating 
• Plum trees
  

  Early Transparent Gage

  One of the easier gages to grow, Early Transparent has attractive semi-translucent plums.  compare
  From £18.45 to £32.45
  Flowering: 3self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Edda

  A good quality and cold-hardy early-season purple plum from Norway.  compare
  Flowering: 2

  Pick: Early-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Excalibur

  Excalibur is a red-purple plum, similar to Victoria but with a better flavour for eating fresh.  compare
  Flowering: 2

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Guinevere

  Guinevere is a modern late-season dessert plum, with a good flavour.  compare
  From £18.95 to £32.45
  Flowering: 3self-fertile

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Haganta®

  Haganta is a new large blue plum from Germany, one of the latest-ripening and an excellent flavour.  compare
  From £32.45
  Flowering: 3partly self-fertile

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating 
• Plum trees
  

  Haus-Zwetsche

  Haus-zwetsche is a damson-like Quetsche or Zwetsche plum, ideal for German-style cakes and desserts.  compare
  From £18.95 to £32.45
  Flowering: 4self-fertile

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Herman

  Herman is one of the best quality early-season plum varieties, blue/purple with yellow flesh.  compare
  From £18.45 to £32.45
  Flowering: 2self-fertile

  Pick: Early-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Jefferson

  Jefferson is a large yellow gage / plum, easy to grow, crops well, very juicy and great flavour.  compare
  From £19.45
  Flowering: 2

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating 
• Plum trees
  

  Jubilee

  Jubilee is a new heavy-cropping dessert plum variety, similar to Victoria but larger and more reliable.  compare
  From £18.95 to £35.45
  Flowering: 3self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Kirke's Blue

  An old-fashioned blue plum with a rich sweet flavour.  compare
  Flowering: 3

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating 
• Plum trees
  

  Marjorie's Seedling

  Marjorie's Seedling is an easy to grow, late-season, heavy cropping purple/black plum.  compare
  From £18.45 to £54.95
  Flowering: 3self-fertile

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  
  

  Meritare

  An attractive new early-season dessert plum from Sweden, with large fruits and good cold-hardiness.  compare
  Flowering: 3

  Pick: Early-season

  Uses: Eating 
• Plum trees
  

  Old Green Gage

  The definitive gage - Old Green Gage is arguably the best-flavoured of any plum variety.  compare
  From £18.45 to £54.95
  Flowering: 3

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating 
• Plum trees
  

  Opal

  Opal is an early plum variety with a good flavour, self-fertile and very easy to grow.  compare
  From £18.45 to £54.95
  Flowering: 3self-fertile

  Pick: Early-season

  Uses: Eating 
• Plum trees
  

  Oullins Golden Gage

  The flavour of a true gage yet also easy to grow, Oullins Golden Gage is a good first gage tree.  compare
  From £18.45 to £54.95
  Flowering: 4self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Purple Pershore

  Very similar to Yellow Pershore and with the same excellent culinary qualities.  compare
  From £18.95 to £19.95
  Flowering: 4self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Reine Claude de Bavay

  The most widely-grown green gage, Reine Claude de Bavay has the distinctive gage-like flavour.  compare
  From £18.95 to £32.45
  Flowering: 3self-fertile

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating 
• Plum trees
  

  Reine Claude Doree

  A high-quality yellow-green gage, and usually more productive than other green gages.  compare
  From £18.95
  Flowering: 3

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  
  

  Reine Claude Violette

  A traditional French gage first recorded in the 18th century, noted for its excellent flavour. Also known as Purple Gage.  compare
  From £18.95 to £32.45
  Flowering: 3partly self-fertile

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Rivers' Early Prolific

  Early Prolific is a very heavy-cropping early-season plum, raised by the famous Rivers nursery.  compare
  From £18.45 to £32.45
  Flowering: 2self-fertile

  Pick: Early-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Seneca

  Seneca is a high-quality late-season large American plum with a notably sweet flavor.  compare
  From £18.95 to £28.45
  Flowering: 3

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating 
• Plum trees
  

  Stella's Star®

  A modern green-gage, more productive and easier to grow in the UK than the traditional ones.  compare
  From £18.45 to £32.45
  Flowering: 3self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Thames Cross

  An attractive yellow mid-season plum with a good flavour.  compare
  Flowering: 3partly self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Valor

  Valor is a large dual-purpose purple plum from Canada, ripening late in the season.  compare
  Flowering: 3

  Pick: Very late-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Victoria

  Victoria is the definitive English plum, attractive fruit, good for eating, outstanding flavour for cooking.  compare
  From £18.45 to £54.95
  Flowering: 3self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Warwickshire Drooper

  Warwickshire Drooper is a good quality dual-purpose yellow plum, with heavy crops.  compare
  From £18.45 to £18.95
  Flowering: 2self-fertile

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  
  

  Willingham

  A traditional English green gage, with a reputation for excellent flavour.  compare
  From £18.45 to £32.45
  Flowering: 3partly self-fertile

  Pick: Late-season

  Uses: Eating | Cooking 
• Plum trees
  

  Yellow Pershore

  Also known as Yellow Egg, Yellow Pershore is a self-fertile heavy cropping culinary plum.  compare
  From £18.45 to £32.45
  Flowering: 4self-fertile

  Pick: Mid-season

  Uses: Cooking