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Plum

Prunus salicina

Most plums grown in the South are Japanese plums: juicy, round, red or yellow fruit on fast-growing trees. European plums like Stanley, the source of prunes, need far more winter cold. In Florida, the UF Gulf series and Methley are the low-chill choices.

Tree facts

Scientific name
Prunus salicina
Origin
China, refined in Japan and the US (Japanese plum); western Asia and Europe (European plum)
Tree size
15–20 ft; kept at 8–12 ft with open-center pruning
Growth rate
Fast
Sun
Full sun
Soil
Well-drained sandy loam. Doesn't tolerate wet feet.
Soil pH
5.5–6.5
Pollination
Most Japanese plums need a second cultivar that blooms at the same time; Methley and Santa Rosa are partly self-fertile. European plums such as Stanley are self-fertile.
Cold hardiness
Dormant trees take well below 0°F; open blossoms are killed near 28°F
USDA zones
5–9 (low-chill types 8–9b)
Years to first fruit
2–4
Season
May–Aug
Water
About every 10 days once established, without rain; more in heat, in pots and while young
Feeding
About every 120 days, Mar–Jun
Pruning
Feb–Mar
Taste
Sweet, juicy flesh under a tart skin; European plums are denser and sweeter
Nutrition
Vitamin C, vitamin K and antioxidant pigments in the skin; prunes are rich in fiber and sorbitol

Is plum safe to eat? Edible and toxic parts

What you can eat

  • Ripe fruit, raw or cooked, skin included
  • European plums, dried as prunes

Toxic parts and cautions

  • Toxic: Wilted leaves, such as on storm-broken branches or fresh prunings, release cyanide and can kill horses, cattle, goats and sheep. Clean up fallen branches anywhere livestock graze.
  • Take care: The kernel inside the pit contains amygdalin, which releases cyanide when chewed. The fruit is safe; don't crack pits to eat the kernels.
  • Good to know: Prunes and plum juice are strongly laxative in quantity.

Pets: Flesh is fine for dogs in small amounts. Pits, leaves and stems contain cyanogenic compounds, and pits can block the gut; keep dogs, cats and horses away from them.

How to eat and enjoy plum

  • Fresh, chilled
  • Jam and plum butter
  • Chinese-style plum sauce
  • Plum cake and tarts, a German tradition with prune plums
  • Prunes
  • Plum wine and liqueur

When it's ripe

Japanese plums are ready when fully colored and slightly soft; firm-ripe fruit finishes softening on the counter in a day or two. European plums are best left on the tree until soft and sweet. The whitish bloom on the skin is natural.

Storing it

Ripe plums keep 3–5 days in the fridge. Soften firm ones at room temperature in a paper bag.

Plum varieties (7)

  • Bruce

    A large, red, early Japanese hybrid plum, popular in Texas and the Gulf South.

    Taste: Sweet-tart · Season: May–Jun · Size: Large

    About 500 chill hours. Needs a pollinizer such as Methley.

  • Gulfbeauty · also Gulf Beauty

    An early, low-chill Japanese plum with red-purple skin and juicy yellow flesh.

    Origin: Florida (UF) · Taste: Sweet, juicy · Season: May–Jun · Size: Small to medium

    Very low chill, roughly 200 hours. Plant another Gulf series plum, such as Gulfruby, for pollination.

  • Gulfruby · also Gulf Ruby

    An early, red-skinned, low-chill plum for Central and North Florida.

    Origin: Florida (UF) · Taste: Sweet-tart · Season: May–Jun · Size: Small to medium

    Low chill. Needs a pollinizer such as Gulfbeauty.

  • Methley

    A reliable early plum with red-purple skin and sweet red flesh, grown all across the South.

    Origin: South Africa, early 1900s · Taste: Sweet, mild · Season: May–Jun · Size: Small to medium

    About 250 chill hours. Partly self-fertile and a good pollinizer for other Japanese plums.

  • Santa Rosa

    Burbank's famous plum: crimson skin, amber-red flesh and a tangy-sweet flavor.

    Origin: California (Luther Burbank), 1906 · Taste: Tangy-sweet, aromatic · Season: Jun–Jul · Size: Medium to large

    Partly self-fertile. Needs about 300–400 chill hours, so it's best in North Florida and further north.

  • Satsuma

    A Japanese plum with dark red skin and deep red, sweet flesh, good fresh and for preserves.

    Origin: Japan; introduced to the US by Luther Burbank in the 1880s · Taste: Sweet, rich · Season: Jun–Jul · Size: Medium

    Needs a pollinizer such as Methley or Santa Rosa.

  • Stanley

    The standard European prune plum: dark blue, oval, freestone and sweet, good fresh, dried or baked.

    Origin: New York, 1926 · Taste: Sweet, dense · Season: Aug–Sep · Size: Medium

    Self-fertile. Needs about 800 chill hours; won't fruit in Florida.

Pests and diseases to watch for

  • Brown rot

    Soft brown spots on ripening fruit that spread fast and grow gray-tan spores; dried 'mummies' hang on the tree.

    What to do: Remove mummies and rotten fruit.

  • Scale insects

    Small bumps, waxy or shell-like, on stems and leaf veins; sticky honeydew and black sooty mold below.

    What to do: Scrub small colonies off with a soft brush.

  • Mealybugs

    White cottony clusters in leaf joints, under leaves and on fruit stems; honeydew and sooty mold.

    What to do: Blast off with a strong spray of water.

  • Aphids

    Clusters of tiny soft insects on new shoots; leaves curl and get sticky.

    What to do: Spray off with water.

  • Sooty mold

    Black, papery film on leaves and fruit that wipes off; it grows on honeydew.

    What to do: Control the insects making honeydew; the mold then weathers away.

  • Spider mites

    Fine pale speckling on leaves, dusty undersides and fine webbing; leaves bronze and drop.

    What to do: Hose the undersides of leaves.

Growing plums? Let Gardyn keep track.

Gardyn tells you when your plum needs water based on your local weather, reminds you to feed and prune in season, and keeps every harvest and photo.

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General guidance, not medical or veterinary advice. Poison Control (US): 1-800-222-1222. ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435.