Seneca plum trees
Prunus domestica Although relatively unknown in the UK, Seneca is widely considered one of the best plums developed by the New York Agricultural Experiment Station - for eating fresh it is superb, with a strong sweet plum flavour. The fruit size is very large by the standards of European plums.
Seneca is a useful choice if you are looking for a late-season dessert plum, it ripens in early September.
The stone falls cleanly away from the flesh (freestone).
Seneca plum trees for sale
Bare-root
BR11-year bare-root treeWavit rootstock£40.95
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR21-year bare-root treeSt. Julien rootstock£38.75
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
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Tree specification
Photos of trees as supplied |
Tree sizes and forms
Delivery charges
Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.
Growing and Training
Seneca bruises very easily and is therefore not suitable as a commercial variety - but perfect for the home orchard.
The fruit ripens from the start of September in northern states. A useful feature of Seneca is that not all the plums ripen at once and picking can take place over a period of about 2 weeks, meaning you don't have to deal with a sudden glut.
The tree is vigorous and fairly productive.
History
Seneca is a European plum and is a cross between the Italian Prune and Prinlew. It was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, USA. The first tree was raised in 1937, and test plantings began in 1949. It was eventually named in 1972, having been known as NY981 since the 1950s. The name reflects the Seneca people who are native of this part of North America.
Seneca characteristics
- Gardening skillAverage
- Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
- Flowering group3
- Pollinating othersAverage
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesWarm climates
- Picking seasonLate
- CroppingGood
- Keeping (of fruit)1-3 days
- Food usesEating fresh
- Disease resistanceAverage
- Country of originUnited States
- 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.
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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 whilst 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.
