Hi, HOS folks. I am new to this list and new to growing fruit in my yard in St John's, Portland. I have seven fruit trees planted already but want to add a couple of plum trees. The kind I really want is a sort of Italian prune type that I've found growing around my neighborhood. It's a fabulous flavor, and not quite like any other variety I've tasted. Nobody I've talked to knows the name of the variety. None of the trees, or at least none that I've found, are cared for at all, yet they survive and they keep making fruit. Since they grow so casually in the neighborhood, clearly the variety does well here.
So, questions: 1. How do I get one of these trees growing in my yard? 2. I read the HOS page on grafting, but it wasn't clear to me whether you can successfully graft prune plums--can I?. 3. And if so, on what rootstock? 4. I do have access to the existing trees so I can collect scions. When is a good time of year to collect scions in Portland? 6. The page on grafting was pretty darn intimidating for a new orchardist like me. Do I understand correctly that the HOS offers a grafting class? 7. See question 1.
I'm grateful that this list exists.
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Silvia - I would recommend that you come to the AAFS this week-end - there will be lots of HOS members there that will be happy to speak with you about getting some of these trees growing in your yard!!!
Bring along some of the fruit - take it to the fruit identification table.
Sylvia,
A Native Portlander, I love St John’s… You realize there are “Asian (Chinese) plums,†and “European plums,†often times called “Prunes†because of their sugar content and ability to be dried. My recollection is you can’t mix the two (grafting either to the other). You’ll need a ‘stand alone’ tree, or two. It would be nice to have them positively ID’ed, then you could buy a two or three year old tree, virus free. But if you want the exact fruit – it’s best to collect and graft it.
Question 1: I’d talk to an owner now, asking permission to mark (flag or tag) the tree or limb you found the best fruit, then return around January to collect a good amount (six to eight) of ‘water shoots’ or one-year old growth; AKA, scions. Store the scions as described ...in damp newspaper, twist tied in a couple plastic bags works for me – inside a refrigerator.
The HOS offers classes in the spring on grafting; basically connecting a scion to a bareroot rootstock. I actually present the ‘topworking’ portion of the ‘advanced grafting’ class where it’s shown how to cleft and bark graft to larger trees. And yes (Q2), plums graft just fine, only a bit less reliable from my experience with apples & pears.
If you plan to attend the grafting classes - make sure to call ahead and find out if European plum rootstock will be available. I’m not up on the latest rootstock's, but other members are. And – two weeks after these classes we hold our annual Spring Event where hundreds of scions are available, a variety of rootstocks, and grafters (for a minimal fee) ready to splice the parts together. BYOS (bring your own scions)!
Less confused 
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(you're welcome) Sylvia: “But how do I tell a water shoot when I see one?†– They’re usually shooting straight up off a lateral branch, about a pencil's diameter. When pruning, you snip them off at the base of said limb. So, what you take will actually be a favor to whomever’s tree you're ‘pruning.’
They’re just one year old. …Now, if a tree hasn’t been regularly pruned they usually reside at the tip-top and/or far ends… and are much more tricky / dangerous to get. But the same description, depending on the trees vigor, they can be from one to four feet in length. What you don’t want is what we unfortunately see too often when custom grafting at the Exchange: two and three year old wood, twisted and ready to bloom – not ‘grow.’ So - ‘smooth skinned’ straight up ‘suckers’ – of varying diameters please, so we can mix and match them to the size of the rootstock.
Be careful 
Hi Sylvia,
Sure wish we could give you one of our extra Italian type plum trees; we've got several hundred Brooks plum trees which are in the way of the coming horse pasture! But they're probably a different type plum anyway, since they're right in the middle of their season - and are way too old and big to transplant; they've been neglected since at least the mid 70's, came with the place my GF & I recently bought a ways south of Salem.
And you can graft European & Japanese plums onto the same tree, after all they both use the same rootstock - and one of the trees on our new place (14 acres of mostly plums!!) is Brooks one one side & Shiro on the other; so one of each type.
Cheers!
Dave
lotus026@yahoo.com
P. S. And if anyone nearby could use some Brooks plums, drop me a note - no way can we use up more than a very small fraction of what's still fruiting, despite the decades of neglect!
You realize there are “Asian (Chinese) plums,†and “European plums,†often times called “Prunes†because of their sugar content and ability to be dried. My recollection is you can’t mix the two (grafting either to the other). You’ll need a ‘stand alone’ tree, or two.
And you can graft European & Japanese plums onto the same tree, after all they both use the same rootstock
Truth of the matter is this: Never graft a prunus domestica onto a diploid Japanese (salicina) or americana plum with a view to long term survival. The domestica will soon overgrow the union and a wind storm will break the graft off, if it does not die from other reasons. It may last up to 5 years, however. Been there, done that. You can use a Japanese or americana plum tree to temporarily "park" a domestica scion for several years [and it will grow], just do not count on long term compatibility.
The graft in reverse DOES work okay, that is, grafting Japanese or americana to a prunus domestica understock. -- totally compatible.
Dave, if those Brooks are still hanging in good shape I wouldn't mind coming to get a box of them or two for drying. It'd be a good opportunity to see your ranch as well 
I will say that I put some domestica cultivars on individual Marianna 2624 stock which is 50% Myro, the grafts looked decent the first several years, but now I am noticing that there is overgrowth happening of the domestica in relation to the stock. Not all, but some cultivars. I should have buried the graft union, that way the scion could have self rooted when the union starts to fail.
I did find this reference:
Myrobalan -- Used as a rootstock, it is compatible with most European and Japanese plum cultivars though does not do well with the cultivars 'Stanley' or 'Green Gage'. It produces large, very productive trees with good anchorage, though the fruit is slightly later in ripening. Considered to be the best world-wide stock, but it is highly variable from seed. Widely adapted to different soil types and moisture conditions, though it will not tolerate very heavy soilsLINK
Anymore I just plant domestica pips in the garden, and graft to them after one year of growth.
Yes I have noticed the difference in vigour with different cultivars on the myrolbalum. King Billy takes well and grows vigorously whereas the green guage and Angelina are much more tardy and don't grow away as vigorously. Although, a king billy interstem works well. I've found the green guage is slower even on domestica stock, its very different in growth habit to most of my other Euros. Branch angles much wider and a lot more feathering compared to other euros.
Bag
At one time almond and peach seedlings were used as rootstock for European plums. They were short lived, so growers would plant the trees with the graft union below ground so the scions would root. As a result, old trees from that era often produce suckers which are the same as the scion (fruiting) variety. I have some old trees dug as suckers from such trees and the suckers are all the same Italian type variety. You might have that kind of situation. If you do, the suckers will look like the old tree, while rootstocks such as myrobalan will look distinctly different.
The only drawback to such suckers is that if they are dug and replanted they can take 10 years or more to come into bearing as they have to go through a process of maturing. Suckers that remain attached to the old tree usually take less time to start bearing.
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