plum tree-loaded!

It is good to hear from someone who already has one. I am leaning toward Shiro. I have an Italian and a Stanley. Do you think they would be good pollinators for Shiro? When in the season are they ready to eat? I'm looking for an early yellow that is sweet. Not asking for much (smile). DM

I only know that Santa Rosa is the pollinator I will be seeking. You would have to check the pollinator lists to find out about Stanley. They are ready about the second week in August - and they are just nothing but yummy. I suspect they are not found in the marketplace because they are pretty soft when they are ripe. Handling those would be a real problem.

HTH

To pollinate your Shiro you need another Asian plum. Stanley and other European plums are usually self-fertile, but they won't pollinate your Shiro.

One of the many reasons for growing your own fruit at home is that many time honored and delicious varieties are not available in stores or even in a lot of Farmers' Markets. I have never seen Shiro in a store, nor have I seen Green Gage. The same is true of many, many wonderful fruits. How many stores sell crabapples of any kind? A hundred years ago, families had fruit trees and canned and preserved many fruits for winter. Nowadays we plant the kind of trees that produce beautiful flowers and little or no fruit. I agree cleaning up the fallen fruit can be a problem, but I would hate to live without some of these varieties which have become unusual.

I always wonder at the people who have fruit trees in their yards and just let the fruit fall and rot on the groumd. Such a waste.

I wonder about them, too, especially since around here the fallen fruits attract bears. If we don't use them, we'd best gather them up, compost them and/or take them to the dump or to the local wildlife center which uses them to rehab injured bears getting ready for hibernation.

I have an Italian Plum tree, also - and the deer keep the area pretty clean - ditto some totally worthless apples. If a bear shows up, things are going to change!!!! Yikes!!!!!!!

If you don't have bears in the area, no worry. If you do, eat the plums and clean up the ones that the deer don't eat.
Bears aren't threating to humans, normally, but they can do stupid things like try to climb the tree and break it or leave giant piles in your patio or yard. If they are really hungry they can try to break into your house and can even open your fridge!
But don't worry about them if they aren't common in your area.
Betty

I keep the fallen fruit picked up to cut down on the worms that might still be in it.

Here, we've only got squirrels and raccoons, and I don't really begrudge them the windfalls, but they get into the trees and ruin more fruit than they eat.

I have some adorable photos of the raccoons - mom and 3 kits - up in the Italian plum tree - picking the ones I couldn't reach. On the other hand, my brother who lives in the Midwest would never describe raccoons as adorable, for there he has had to replace the roof after raccoons ripped their way under the shingles - more than once!

The only west coast raccoon I ever saw was hardly bigger than a cat.

The ones we have here are hulking beasts of massive size. We had one rip its way into our attic that way. I can't keep fish in my small patio pond because of them.