UK plant library · fruit

Plum

Prunus domestica · Rosaceae

Heavy-cropping stone fruit

Photo: YAMAMAYA, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sun: Full sun
Soil: Moist, well-drained
Soil pH: Around neutral, pH 6.0-7.0 (keep near 6.5)
Water: Water in dry spells
Hardiness: Fully hardy
Height and spread: 3-5m depending on rootstock

Guv's tipOnly prune plums in summer. It avoids silver leaf and bacterial canker. Winter pruning is asking for trouble, believe me.

Through the year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Sow or plant

Harvest

Prune

Timings are for the UK as a whole. Northern and exposed gardens often run a couple of weeks later.

When to plant

Plant Nov-Mar (Nov-Feb in some advice)

Harvest or flowering

Harvest Jul-Oct

Pruning

Prune in summer to avoid silver leaf

Making more plants

Chip budding or grafting onto a clonal rootstock, which sets tree vigour

Watch out for

Pest

Plum moth

Look for: Pink caterpillars in ripening plums

What to do: Pheromone traps, remove affected fruit

Pest

Aphids

Look for: Colonies of small green/black insects on shoot tips, sticky honeydew, distorted leaves

What to do: Squash or wash off, encourage ladybirds and other predators; insecticidal soap if severe

Pest

Wasps

Look for: Damage to ripe fruit

What to do: Pick fruit promptly

Disease

Bacterial canker

Pseudomonas syringae

Look for: Sunken bark with gummy ooze, shot-holes in leaves

What to do: Prune in summer only, cut out cankers

Disease

Silver leaf

Chondrostereum purpureum

Look for: Silvery sheen to leaves, branch dieback

What to do: Prune in summer, cut out affected wood

Disease

Brown rot

Monilinia spp.

Look for: Brown soft fruit with rings of pale pustules

What to do: Remove affected fruit promptly

Disease

Honey fungus

Armillaria spp.

Look for: White fungal sheets under bark at base, dieback, bootlace rhizomorphs

What to do: Remove infected plants including roots; physical root barriers

Always read and follow the label on any treatment, and check it is approved for use where you live.

Safety and spread

Pets and people: Stems, leaves and seeds contain cyanogenic glycosides and are toxic to dogs, cats and horses, according to the ASPCA. Cats Protection lists Prunus (plum) as 'toxic - caution advised'

Weed risk: None known

Checked against two or more reputable gardening sources. How we check our facts

Keep it by the back door

The Plant Doctor and the Guv's book

Printable pest and disease charts with real photographs, and all 50 UK plants in one book.

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