Reeves plum trees

• Picking season: Mid
• Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
• Flowering group: 3
• Awards: RHS AGM (former) 1995
• List of other varieties that will pollinate Reeves

A high-quality English dual-purpose plum, similar to Victoria but with an improved flavour for eating fresh.

Reeves plum trees for sale

Reeves is a large-fruited dual-purpose red plum, filling a similar niche to Victoria. However whilst Victoria is hard to beat for use in the kitchen, Reeves has a far better flavour for eating fresh. Indeed it is one of the best-flavoured of all plums and can even hold its own in tasting tests with most gages.

It is grown commercially on a small scale in England, Scandanavia, and eastern Europe, and is generally well-regarded by growers and apparently not affected by plum pox virus. The plums keep fresh much longer after picking than most other varieties.

How to grow

Reeves is not as heavy-cropping as some plums. This is actually a good thing, as with plums lighter crops are often associated with better flavour.

Advice on fruit tree pollination.

History

Reeves was found by Mr A. Reeves of Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, in the 1940s. Chilliwack is near Vancouver - some distance from the main plum-growing regions of British Columbia. Its ancestry is unknown but it is possibly a seedling of Reine Claude Berger (sometimes known as Peach plum in English).

Reeves characteristics