Q.Which plum tree is best for a small garden and will fruit the year after planting?
(Mr Christopher Mcvey, 2 October 2020)
A.It’s time for tree-planting – and the choice you’ve got is enormous. Plums are popular and deservedly so: the sweet fruits are perfect for eating, but also wonderful in pies, desserts and jams.
It is difficult to find a tree that will guarantee fruit next year, or the following year. Plum trees take 4-5 years to begin producing fruit. Even then, plum trees do not produce fruit reliably – if the flowers suffer a late frost, they could all be lost. To give your tree the best chance, plant in a deep hole away from shade, because they don’t like frost, and feed with bonemeal in early spring.
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Choose Self Fertile Trees For Small Spaces
Make sure that the tree you choose is also self-fertile. Many varieties must be planted in pairs or more to ensure that the flowers are pollinated. Plum flowers are fairly short-lived and lack of pollination often causes a poor harvest. To get the best harvest, thin out the fruits in early summer to give the best fruits a good chance to grow and ripen.
Make Sure You Buy Dwarf Rootstock
As for the size, you’ll need a plum tree in fan, pyramid or bush shape. Ask for a tree that has been grafted onto a dwarf or semi-vigorous rootstock – Victoria, Czar and Opal are all approved by the Royal Horticultural Society, which is a good indicator of quality. You can buy named ‘Dwarf Plum Trees’ too, even those which can be grown in outdoor pots, but, because plums are so easy to shape by pruning, they’re usually suitable for small gardens anyway.
Where To Grow Your Plum Tree To Save Space
Plums are easy to keep in shape by pruning – you’ll see them grown on cordons or espaliers in show gardens. If you have a south or west-facing wall, you could grow the plum tree against it in a fan shape to keep garden space free. If not, choose a bush type, which will grow up to 4m tall but will have foliage that starts quite high on the trunk. Refer to the pruning instructions for your particular tree; plum trees are usually pruned in the summer, but different varieties require different treatment.
Hi, I have a Victoria plum tree in my garden. Its produced lots of fruit every year. Last year we had to prop half up as there was so much fruit (Ive only just learnt I should have thinned it) it also developed a large crack in the trunk which I thought was going to end it, but it didnt seem to effect it. However some of last years plums had brown spots and I had to discard (lots were healthy though) It isnt looking too healthy this year. A lower branch is absolutely full of blossom, but not the rest of it, does anyone know whats going on with my poor tree?
My mum has a new greengage plum tree, which was put into her garden last year. this year it has fruit on it but before the fruit got ripe the leaves on the tree all went yellow and the fruit has all shrivelled up can you please help?
Having planted our Conference pear tree last year there has been no sign of growth the leaves are very small again this year although the tree looks healthy it does not show any signs that it is progressing as it should have also fed with blood fish &bone could you please advise.