Fruiting Plums 2024
*All of these plum trees are grown on semi-dwarf rootstock in order to accommodate most home orchards.*
European Plums
Blue Damson: Not only does this heirloom variety yield oblong, purple-skinned fruits with yellow-green flesh and a sweet tart flavor that is great for fresh eating and especially cooking, but the tree in bloom is a lovely sight in the spring! Self-fertile but will be more productive when paired with a different European plum variety as a pollinizer.
Green Gage: A historic plum dating back to France in the 1600’s where they are called “Reine Claude”. Small rounded yellow-green plums are not pretty, but many say have the best flavor of any plum. Juicy and firm, with a sweet, melt in your mouth flavor. Excellent fresh, or for baking, preserves and canning. Self-fertile but may produce better with a different European plum pollinizer. Ripens in late August.
Imperial Epineuse: Considered one of the most delicious plums you can grow, this plum has grown famous for its sweet, flavorful fruit. This French variety has a reddish-purple skin and yellow flesh. Large fruits are excellent for either fresh eating or drying. Once mature, the tree is a heavy producer, often yielding over 50lbs of fruit in a season. Self-fertile but may produce better with a different European plum pollinizer. A WSU Mt. Vernon recommended variety.
Early Italian Prune: Very similar to Italian prune plum but ripens a few weeks earlier.
Italian Prune: Perhaps the most widely planted and beloved fruit tree in history. Deep purple oblong freestone fruits with tasty yellow flesh are great fresh off the tree and are especially suited for drying, canning and cooking. Flesh turns a nice red color when cooked. Ripens in August. Self-fertile. Can take a few years to start producing. A WSU Mt Vernon recommended variety.
Asian Plums
Beauty: This variety is well suited to the cool summers of western Washington. The fruits have red and yellow skin with amber-red flesh. Some say this is the most flavorful Japanese plum, sweet and juicy with a delicious flavor that melts in your mouth. Excellent for fresh eating. Vigorous and productive. Ripens in early August. A good pollinizer for many other Asian plum varieties, it is considered self-fertile but will produce more heavily with another Asian plum nearby. A WSU Mt. Vernon recommended variety.
Toka: One of the hardiest Asian plum varieties. This Asian x American plum hybrid has small-to-medium size red fruit with yellow flesh that ripens in August and is so sweet, spicy, and fragrant it is commonly called the Candy or Bubblegum plum. The vigorous, upright tree is covered with white blossoms in early spring, bushels of fruit in the summer, and beautiful red fall foliage. Self-fertile and is an excellent pollinizer for other Asian and hybrid plums.
Shiro: These plums are quite popular with American gardeners: the trees are long-lived and very prolific, the large round yellow fruit is mild, sweet, and ridiculously juicy! With its fast production you’ll have plenty of fruit for eating, cooking, canning, baking desserts. Ripens in early August. Partially self-fertile, it is best with another variety of Asian plum as a pollinizer.
