Ruby cherry plum trees
Prunus x cerasifera Ruby produces perhaps the largest fruit of any Cherry Plum. The flesh is dark red and has a peach-like flavour, and can be eaten fresh although like all mirabelles and cherry plums it is mainly used for cooking.
The fruits ripen towards the end of July in southern England. They are clingstone - the flesh sticks to the stone. However the very large size of the fruits means this is not really an issue for use in the kitchen.
Ruby grows with a very upright, almost columnar habit (it's tradename is Ruby COLUMNAR™ ) and is therefore a good choice if space is limited.
Hybrids between various plum species are quite common, and the large fruit size and red-flesh suggests that Ruby may have some relation to the popular Japanese plums.
Ruby cherry plum 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,St. Julien rootstock£41.50
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
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
Pre-order now for delivery in September 2025
Delivery charges
Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.
Growing and Training
As well as the pollination partners mentioned above, Ruby will also cross-pollinate with most early-flowering Plum and Damson varieties.
The large fruit size and heavy cropping can cause the branches to break under the load, so we recommend thinning the crop or making sure the branches are supported.
Ruby characteristics
- Gardening skillBeginner
- Self-fertilityPartially self-fertile
- Flowering group1
- Pollinating othersAverage
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climates
- Picking seasonLate
- CroppingGood
- Keeping (of fruit)1 week
- Food usesCulinary
- Country of originUkraine
- Period of origin1950 - 1999
- Blossom colourWhite
- Fruit colourRed
British-grown trees 
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 cherry plum trees
Cherry plums are, as the name suggests, a half-way house between cherries and plums. They are mostly self-fertile, and easy to grow.
Cherry plums are generally classified in the species Prunus cerasifera but they inter-breed readily with other plum species and many are hybrids.
Like cherries they ripen very early in the summer, in June or early July. Also like cherries, and unlike plums, there is no need to thin cherry plums - the trees are generally productive but do not over-crop the way some plums tend to.
However in most other respects cherry plums are more like early-season Asian or Japanese plums. They have a similar rounded shape, and the flesh is usually dark red (but can also be yellow, like most European plums).
