Meritare plum trees
Prunus domestica Meritare is an attractive new early-season plum from Sweden, and can be considered an improved version of the popular Opal plum - which is one of its parents. It has a similar or better flavour, and the fruit-size is much larger.
It is also a good choice if you are looking for an early-season plum to grow in colder climates.
Meritare plum trees for sale
Bare-root
BR11-year bare-root tree,Wavit rootstock£40.95
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
BR21-year bare-root tree,St. Julien rootstock£38.75
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
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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
Meritare is reasonably disease-resistant, and cold-hardy in all UK situations.
Meritare is considered too light-cropping by many commercial growers, but for the gardener this is a good thing - lighter crops often mean better flavour, and larger fruit size.
It is a good pollinator for many other plums, damsons and mirabelles, including Mirabelle de Nancy, Avalon, Belle de Louvain, Victoria, Cambridge Gage, Farleigh and Shropshire Prune.
History
Meritare was developed in the 1980s at the Balsgaard research station in southern Sweden. It is a cross between an American dessert plum called Ontario, and the well-known Opal plum from Sweden. (Some authorities state incorrectly that it was developed at the INRA research station in Bordeaux, France).
Meritare characteristics
- Gardening skillAverage
- Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
- Flowering group3
- Pollinating othersAverage
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesMild damp climates
- Picking seasonEarly
- CroppingLight
- Keeping (of fruit)1-3 days
- Food usesEating fresh
- Country of originFrance
- Period of origin1950 - 1999
- Blossom colourWhite
- Fruit colourRed
Similar varieties
OpalOpal is an early plum variety with a good flavour, self-fertile and very easy to grow.
British-grown trees 
Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK.
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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.
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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.
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More about plum trees
Eating plums, also known as dessert plums, offer some of the sweetest flavours possible in the temperate garden, rivaling the best of tropical fruits. We particularly rate Avalon, Oullins Gage, Cambridge Gage, Coe's Golden Drop, Old Green Gage, and Opal.
There are several things you can do, as the gardener, to enhance the flavours of these sweet fruits. Firstly, try to plant the tree in full sun - because it is sunlight that ripens the fruits and ensures the maximum sweetness. Secondly, thin the fruitlets in June. To be fair, thinning plum fruitlets is a tedious job, but it is well worth doing because most plum varieties set too many fruits, which leads to poorer fruit size and bland flavours. So if you think your tree has over-set, carefully prune off the developing fruitlets, and don't be surprised if you end up removing half of them or even more - the tree will reward you later on.
