I adopted a plum tree with a recent home purchase and would be curious to find out if anyone is familiar with the variety. It has many short (2" - 3") branches growing on the lower 4 feet of the 6 main "trunks" which haven't grown this year which leads me to believe that they are a form of protection (ie thorns). The fruit is about 2 inches round when grown and sets very heavily on the branches. I wasn't able to taste any last year but my mother says they taste a lot like the old plums that my great-grandmother used to make plums buns with. The home inspector stated that they were the best he'd ever tasted. I have pictures but can't figure out how to attach them. The branches are so loaded now that they reach the ground, roof, and adjoining tree. I'll need pruning advice this winter. I have become a big fan of plums of late and would be interested in learning grafting and trading if anyone is local. New member, SE PDX, Multnomah County, Oregon. Thanks.
Hello tdw,
Welcome aboard. You have me intrigued. Probably somebody more tech-savvy could help you with attaching your pictures.
Plums are a very large and diverse group. Asian plums and European plums are the two main divisions, although there are plums that are native to our home state and country.
Even a color could help someone. If you could give a ripening date or a blooming date that could help id too. Is it a new tree? You could freeze the fruit, and then bring it in to the All About Fruit Show in the Fall, (look for ID team) or Karen Tillou, Jerry Shroyer, or Shaun. They are super good at that. I am not so impressive in that area.
Another idea is to google web plums and see some that look like yours. Even if you could copy the url of the picture that the tree and fruit mostly look like, that could help people narrow it down.
John S
PDX OR
The "thorny" condition is typical of a seedling tree - the thorns are in the juvenile "phase" of the tree and the bearing part is the mature tree. Graft a new tree from that mature wood and it will grow without the thorns.
The point is, your tree could be a seedling, not an existing variety. Nothing wrong with that, but it won't match an existing variety if that's the case.
Idyllwild
simplepress
jafar
Marsha H
Viron
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