Plum

Sun

Full sun, ideally with at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight; shelter from strong winds without trapping cold air.

Water

Water deeply during dry spells, especially for the first two growing seasons and while fruit is swelling. Avoid waterlogged soil.

Soil

Fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained loam; slightly acidic to neutral soil is ideal. Avoid shallow, drought-prone soil and poorly drained clay.

Height

15-30 ft (4.5-9 m); trees on dwarfing rootstocks can be kept smaller

Spread

15-25 ft (4.5-7.5 m); less on dwarfing rootstocks

Flowers

White flowers in early to mid-spring, usually before or as the leaves emerge.

Foliage

Oval, toothed green leaves, sometimes turning yellow in autumn.

Growth

Moderate

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Wildlife
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.2 m)

3. After 2 years

   8 ft (2.5 m)

4. After 3 years

   9 ft (2.7 m)

5. After 5 years

   10 ft (3.2 m)

About 20 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Moderate

• Plant with the graft union above soil level, and stake young trees where wind could rock the roots.
• Water deeply during dry weather; keep the root zone moist but not saturated.
• Apply a 2-3 in (5-8 cm) organic mulch each spring, keeping it clear of the trunk.
• Feed modestly in early spring if growth is weak; excess nitrogen encourages leafy growth rather than fruit.
• Thin heavy crops after the natural fruit drop, leaving roughly 2-3 in (5-8 cm) between fruits to reduce branch breakage.
• Check whether your cultivar is self-fertile; otherwise plant a compatible European plum with overlapping flowering.

Pruning. Train young trees in spring and prune established trees lightly in dry summer weather, removing dead, damaged and crossing branches and opening crowded growth. Avoid routine autumn or winter pruning, particularly where silver leaf disease is a risk, and remove rootstock suckers promptly.

Pick plums in July–October in the US and UK, usually August–September in Canada, and January–March in Australia, depending on variety and local climate. For eating fresh, pick fruit with its full variety-specific colour that yields slightly to gentle pressure and comes away with a light twist; for cooking, pick while still slightly firm.

Late autumn to early spring

Plant dormant bare-root trees while the soil is workable and neither frozen nor waterlogged.

Early spring

Apply mulch, check ties and feed only if needed.

Spring

Protect blossom from forecast frost with horticultural fleece where practical; remove it during the day so pollinators can reach flowers.

Late spring to early summer

Thin overloaded branches after the natural fruit drop and begin watering if conditions turn dry.

Summer

Prune lightly in dry weather and support heavily laden branches.

Summer to early autumn

Pick fruit as it colours and softens; remove rotten fruit promptly.

Autumn

Clear fallen fruit and remove shrivelled fruit remaining on the tree to reduce disease carryover.

• Plant in a home orchard with compatible European plums for reliable pollination and a longer harvest.
• Use as a small lawn tree for spring blossom, summer shade and edible fruit, keeping grass away from the trunk.
• Train as a fan against a sunny wall or fence where space is limited.
• Include in an edible landscape with currants, gooseberries and low herbs planted beyond the mulched root zone.

Garden styles it suits: Backyard orchard, Edible landscape, Homestead, Cottage garden, Potager (kitchen garden) and Food forest.

Plant it with: Chives, Thyme, Yarrow, Calendula, Redcurrant and Gooseberry.

Wildlife: Spring flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees. Birds and small mammals eat ripe fruit, while the branches offer shelter; net crops only with wildlife-safe netting secured so animals cannot become entangled.

• Brown rot: fruit develops soft brown decay and often remains hanging as a shrivelled mummy. Remove affected and fallen fruit, reduce crowding and avoid damaging ripening fruit.
• Black knot, particularly in North America: hard black swellings develop on branches. Cut infected shoots at least 6-8 in (15-20 cm) below visible knots in dry weather and dispose of the prunings; heavily infected trees may need removal.
• Aphids: curled leaves and sticky honeydew can affect young shoots. Check early, rinse off small colonies and encourage ladybirds and other predators; use a labelled insecticidal soap if necessary.
• Poor fruit set: frost, insufficient winter chill or an unsuitable pollination partner can leave trees nearly fruitless. Choose locally proven cultivars, avoid frost pockets and provide a compatible flowering partner when required.

Ripe fruit flesh is edible for people. Leaves, stems and the kernels inside the stones contain cyanogenic compounds and can cause serious poisoning in people, cats, dogs and horses if eaten, especially when kernels are chewed or leaves are wilted. Keep prunings away from livestock; swallowed stones can also cause choking or intestinal blockage in pets.

• Japanese plum (Prunus salicina)

  Usually has narrower, less hairy leaves and often larger, rounder fruit. Flowering is generally earlier, but cultivated forms overlap, so a nursery label is more reliable than fruit shape alone.

• Cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera)

  Usually flowers earlier and bears smaller, round yellow or red fruits. Purple-leaved ornamental forms are common.

• Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)

  Forms a dense, thorny, suckering shrub with small leaves and small, very astringent blue-black sloes, rather than the larger dessert or cooking plums.

Prunus is the Latin name for the plum tree, and domestica means domesticated or belonging to the household.

Propagation. Named cultivars are usually budded or grafted onto selected plum rootstocks. Seedlings vary in fruit quality and size and do not reliably reproduce the parent; rootstock suckers usually will not produce the same fruit as the grafted tree.

Accepted botanical name

Prunus domestica

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada and the lower 48 states.

Measured

Soil pH 5 to 8.2. Average height 800 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.