Cherry/Plum Hybrids

I came across a couple companies selling hybrids of cherry and plums (cherry-plum mix) developed or popular in Canada. Unfortunately at the time they were sold out and I do not remember the company names. Does anyone know anybody selling these this year and can you recommend a variety?

Thanks

http://www.digitalseed.com/gardener/fruit/cherryplum.html#1
http://www.davewilson.com/br40/br40_trees/cherryPlum.html
http://www.baylaurelnursery.com/order/clicksite.cgi?cart_id=&xm=on&ftr=Pluots&p=Pluots_Plumcots_Etc

That Bay Laurel nursery has the widest selection of hybrids I've seen!

Too bad their s hipping season is over, or I would be tempted beyond all endurance!

You want to plant during dormancy so it is better to wait until next planting season. You do know that these things are crosses between sandcherries and a Japanese plum. Don't expect any resemblance to what we normally think of as Cherries. More like Damsons.

Of course where I live, the dormant season is still very much in force.

I'm not sure about buying from CA and planting in Zone 5. The University extension person gave me a Look when I said I was buying trees from Washington state.

But they have such a selection out on the other coast!

LTilton, the problem with buying from CA/WA nurseries is some varieties do not work at all. On the other hand, some work very well. For example the "Sprite" cherry plum is very well adapted to the southeast US, a place where few plums work. All of the pluots and apriums are not adapted at all. I have eaten exactly one pluot from my two trees in six years.

I had thought Sprite and Delight were in fact crosses with cherries but the catalog description makes clear they are a cross of a cherry plum and a japanese plum. I also heard a rumor that someone did genetic tests on the "Pluots" and found they were pure plum genes, no apricot genes in them. I don't know whether to believe that or not.

Scott

One sees all kinds of things on the internet. I read somewhere that "pluots" were 3/4 plums but "plumcots" were 50/50. I suspect this is incorrect. I believe that "pluot" is actually a registered trademark and "plumcot" is the generic.

I bought my pluot and aprium from a midwest nursery, mostly as an experiment, since the growing zones have been revised. I haven't had any fruit [yet], but they've been too young to bear.

The cherry plums advertised look a whole lot like plums.

Last year, I had 2 japanese plums (outstanding!), and nothing on my apricot, aprium, or plumcot trees... this year, all the trees are loaded with fruit! I suspect I should probably thin the fruit, especially on the plum tree. It's a pretty big tree (more semi-dwarf size than dwarf because I didn't prune enough), but I doubt it can sustain quite that density of plums... there could be 1000 little plums forming out there! I'll have to read up on this. Oh, what a delightful "problem" to have! (Most of our fruit trees were planted 5 years ago, so they've only really started bearing in earnest I guess.)

My Shiro must have 5,000 little ones on it! But not to worry too much. It will shuck off about 4200 I suppose. The stone fruits are going nuts with energy this year after last year's freeze out.

So, I shouldn't worry too much about thinning them at this point, then? Is that something that the tree will do on its own to a great extent?

Oh yes. As Indy said, it will drop most of them.

That's both a relief (that I won't have to get out there and make tough choices -- I hate thinning and pruning!) and a grief -- I'll have to hope it holds onto enough for a nice crop!

Thanks for the tips. :-)

It will drop the ones that aren't completely fertilized, the ones infested by the plum curculio, and as many as it thinks it can't support to maturity.

That sounds good. Thanks for your reassurance!

It varies a lot from variety to variety whether you need to thin. My Shiro overset and I had to thin a bit already but the rest of my plums thinned pretty well on their own. My Puget Gold apricot way overset as well, and I expect some of the peaches will need thinning. With experience you can figure out which trees hold how much and how much thinning needs to be done when. In the meantime don't be in any rush to thin.

Scott

Thanks, Scott! I think our trees are old enough (at last) that they won't be hurt even if they end up overbearing this year -- at worst, we'll have a heavy year this year followed by a light year next year, from what I've read.

With overbearing you get smaller and supposedly less flavorful fruit. I have seen no evidence of the latter myself, only the former, and I sometimes wonder if that is not just perception (tasting with your eyes).

Scott

Good points.

Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack this thread with a discussion of thinning & overbearing... but I appreaciate all the advice!

Those cherry-plum hybrids do have me really intrigued. Hmm, where can I make a spot... ?