Expert advice to grow plums and damsons

There are numerous health benefits to eating plums and damsons. Having them close at hand by growing your own tree can be done by following these tips.

• Plums are eaten fresh or used for canning, cooking, or jams and jellies.
• Damsons are small and tart.
• Prunes are plums with a sugar content high enough that they can be dried without fermentation around the pit.
• All these fruit trees will succeed in most well-drained soils.
• Plums flower early and should not be planted in areas where spring frosts are likely.
• Damsons can stand more rain and less sun than plums.
• All damsons are self-fertile, but some varieties of plums need to be grown with another variety as a pollenizer.
• Two or three trees can provide enough fruit for the average family.

• In mild regions plant trees in early spring or autumn. If the weather is dry, make sure the soil is well watered beforehand. On very acid soils (pH 5 and below), add one kilogram (two pounds) of lime per square metre (square three feet).
• In early spring mulch with a five-centimetre (two-inch) layer of straw or well-rotted compost to keep the soil moist. Repeat each year.
• Control weeds by shallow hoeing or hand pulling.
• Pull out suckers as soon as they form — remove enough soil to reveal the root, and tear the suckers from the root.
• Wasps may suck the juice of the ripening fruit, especially if it is already damaged. If you can find their nest, apply a wasp control.

Two distinct types of plums are commonly grown: European and Japanese.

• European plums are sweet and can be dried as prunes. The fruits are oval, and most varieties have blue skins, although they may also be green, yellow, or reddish.
• Damsons, a form of European plum, are usually blue or purple, but are not as sweet and are used mostly for cooking and making preserves.
• Japanese plums originated in China and ripen earlier than the European varieties.

Japanese plum trees are a bit smaller at maturity and can be spaced closer together, five and a half to six metres (18 to 20 feet) rather than six to six and a half metres (20 to 22 feet). They are better suited to warm climates. Hybrid plums are crosses between native North American species and Japanese plums. They are even hardier and will survive and fruit most years in cooler climates.

In late winter or early spring in humid regions, apply around one kilogram (two pounds) of a balanced fertilizer. In arid regions it is possible that only nitrogen may be needed; alfalfa meal or blood meal are very good organic nitrogen sources. Sprinkle the fertilizer evenly over the soil, covering an area a little larger than the spread of the tree's branches. Do not fork it in, as this might damage the roots; allow the fertilizer to work its way into the root area naturally.

Pick ripe fruit by the stalk to avoid bruising. The stalk will snap and come away with the fruit. Allow the plums that you intend to eat raw to ripen on the tree as long as possible. Pick those that will be used for cooking or canning just before they are ripe.

Following these guidelines will help you grow your own plum tree and have access to delicious fruit right in your own backyard.