Autumn 2025Order now for delivery from 9th December onwards.
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Aprimira® mirabelle trees

Prunus insititia
Check pollinators >
Aprimira is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Picking season: Mid
  • Self-fertility: Self-fertile

Aprimira is a modern mirabelle variety. The fruits are sweet, and relatively large by the standards of mirabelles - more like small plums in size. 

The blossom is plain white, and appears at about the same time as the leaves. 

The fruits ripen gradually throughout August, at about the same time as Victoria plums, and can be picked fresh from the tree over an extended period. They will also keep fresh in a fridge for about a week - longer than most dessert plums. They are particularly pretty - a mix of dusky red and orange hues.

The flavour is especially sweet and the stone falls away cleanly from the flesh, making Aprimira easy to use in the kitchen.

We think Aprimira is one of the best of the new inter-specific stone fruit varieties.

Aprimira mirabelle trees for sale

Pot-grown

All our pot-grown trees are grown for us to our specification by the Frank P Matthews nursery.

All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.

  • PG12-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree, St. Julien rootstock£61.50
    Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)

Bare-root

  • BR11-year bare-root tree,Weiwa rootstock£43.75
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season

Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts

Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.

Tree specification

Photos of trees as supplied | Tree sizes and forms

Next deliveries

Delivery from week commencing 8th December.

Delivery charges

Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.

Growing and Training

Aprimira is self-fertile, and flowers early in the spring, over a long period, making it a good pollinator for other early flowering plums, mirabelles, and damsons.

For the best flavour be sure to thin excess fruitlets in the spring.

History

Aprimira was developed at the Geisenheim research station in Germany and is an open-pollinated seedling of Mirabelle von Herrenhausen, released in 1994. The paternal parent is unknown, but its plum-like shape suggests it might be a hybrid plum / mirabelle. Some authorities claim it is an apricot / mirabelle hybrid but this is unlikely.


Aprimira characteristics

Growing

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Self-fertilitySelf-fertile
  • Flowering group2
  • Pollinating othersGood
  • Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesWarm climates

Using

  • Picking seasonMid
  • CroppingGood
  • Keeping (of fruit)1 week
  • Food usesEating freshCulinaryDual purpose

Identification

  • Country of originGermany
  • Period of origin1950 - 1999
  • Blossom colourWhite
  • Fruit colourYellowYellow / OrangeYellow / Red
  • Flesh colourGolden / Yellow

Similar varieties

  • See also Aprikyra
    Aprikyra
    A sweet self-fertile apricot-cherry cross, also known as an Aprichery or Cherrycot
  • Aprisali
    A sweet self-fertile apricot - plum cross, also known as an Aprium.

British-grown trees Trees grown in the UK.

Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK. Find out more.

In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance. Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK. Find out more.

Guaranteed fruit trees

When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden while it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund, subject to some conditions. Find out more.

More about mirabelle trees

Mirabelles are a type of small sweet plum, a common sight in French markets in August. They can be eaten fresh, but are primarily used for making jams and similar preserves, as well as fruit tarts ('tarte aux mirabelles') and plum liqueurs. Mirabelles are the size of large cherries, and typically either bright red or golden yellow. 

Mirabelles are usually classified as Prunus insititia, along with Damsons and Bullaces (although they are sweeter than these fruits), but are sometimes also classified as a variety of the common European Plum (Prunus domestica v. syriaca).

Cherry Plums are very similar to Mirabelles, but the fruits are a bit larger and they tend to ripen earlier in the summer.

Cherry Plums are usually categorised in a related species - Prunus cerasifera.

Regardless of the classification, Mirabelles and Cherry Plums make an interesting addition to the garden or orchard. They are hardy trees and grow well throughout Europe. Like the other minor plum species, they tend to have good disease resistance.

Mirabelles are partially self-fertile but will set a better crop if another mirabelle is planted nearby. Reflecting their close relationship, Mirabelles will also cross-pollinate with most European plums and damsons if they flower at the same time - they usually overlap with most early and mid-season blooming plums.

Cherry Plums are generally fully self-fertile, and flower very early in the spring. They will also cross-pollinate other plum varieties - usually only the earliest blooming - that are in flower at the same time.

 


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