Impuesto especial sobre determinados medios de transporte

Prunus spp.

With their beautiful blossom and their sweet, juicy fruits that are excellent for use in jams, desserts, pies, and crisps, there is every reason to want to grow your own plum tree. Their close relative the gages are even richer in flavor and are wonderful eaten fresh from the tree. Damsons are too sharp to eat raw but are delicious cooked.

SPRING SUMMER FALL WINTER PLANT

HARVEST

PLANTING

Plums, damsons, and gages all need a well-drained soil with a pH of about 6.5, and a warm, sunny position. A south-facing wall is ideal; frost pockets should be avoided. You need to select the right variety and rootstock for your garden, since not all plum trees are self-fertile. If you opt for trees that aren’t, ensure that they flower at the same time in the season and that the combination you choose are compatible, since some trees will simply not pollinate each other. If in doubt, seek the advice of a specialist when you buy your trees. Choose a rootstock that works for your space. Plum trees can grow quite large, so if you don’t have a large plot choose a

semi-dwarfing rootstock. If you choose a semi-vigorous type, ensure that trees have enough room to spread as they get older. Leave about 22 ft (7 m) between freestanding trees, but less if you are training the tree into a fan or cordon shape, since it will require less space. Container-grown trees can be planted at any time of year, provided that the weather is

not too hot, but ensure that trees have not become pot-bound. Bare-root trees should be planted between late fall and early spring, unless the soil is frozen. Dig in plenty of well-rotted manure or compost before planting, since plums, damsons, and gages all prefer a fertile soil. Water in well, and apply an organic mulch around the base. Young trees need staking for their first few years of growth.

CROP CARE

Keep trees well-watered to help prevent fruits from splitting (see box, right). Feed trees with a balanced fertilizer in late winter and a nitrogenous fertilizer in early spring. Mulch around the base of trunks with well-rotted

manure, compost, or bark chippings after feeding.

 

Plums, damsons, and gages flower relatively early in the season, and may need protection with fleece if frosts occur—this may not be feasible for larger trees, but will be much easier for container-grown or wall-trained types. Plums, damsons, and

Thin out fruits to encourage strong growth.

TIP PRUNING

Like other stone fruit, prune plums in summer while leaves are still out.

Whether you are training your tree or simply pruning it, only do so between late spring and early fall to reduce the risk of infection from silver leaf or bacterial canker. Use sterilized tools, and prune out diseased wood first to promote an open, well-ventilated branch structure. Plums fruit on two- or three-year-old wood, so the aim of pruning is to clean up the tree rather then remove too much of the old wood.

55

PLUMS, DAMSONS, AND GAGES

gages need far less pruning than apples or pears (see tip box, left). Freestanding trees may not require pruning at all.

Fruits may need thinning out if growth is heavy (see image, left), to encourage larger fruits to form. Some crops will fall in early summer in the “June drop.” Thin out any remaining fruits to leave around 2–5 in (5–10 cm) between them.

HARVESTING

Plums and gages should be ready to harvest in midsummer; damsons in midfall. Leave plums that you plan to eat to ripen on the tree, and squeeze them gently to test—when they are soft to the touch they are ready to pick. Plums to be used for cooking can be harvested earlier and will keep a little longer in the refrigerator. Pick plums with a short amount of stalk attached to prevent the fruit skins from tearing. Fruits ripen in succession, so keep checking the tree for those that are ripe.

STORING

Plums, damsons, and gages will keep for a short time in the refrigerator, but try to use them as soon as possible after harvesting to keep them from spoiling.

PESTS AND DISEASES

Wasps will feast on sweet, ripe fruits (left), so set up a jam-trap to distract them. Bacterial canker (right) creates holes in, and then withers, leaves.

Wasps, flies, and birds are drawn to sweet, ripening fruits, so do all you can to discourage them. Try to ensure that trees receive a constant level of moisture, since irregular watering can cause the plums’ skins to split, leaving them open to attack from both pests and diseases, notably brown rot, which will shrivel plums, covering the skins in spores. Net container-grown or wall-trained trees to deter birds.  Winter moths can be a real problem, and will munch their way through leaves—attach sticky grease bands around the trunks of trees and pick off any caterpillars you find. If aphids are a problem, spray with insecticidal soap. Be wary of diseases such as bacterial canker, plum sawfly, plum fruit moth, and pocket plum as well.

‘Victoria’

Probably the best-known and most widely grown dual-purpose English plum, this tree reliably bears heavy yields. The pale purple-red, medium-sized fruits have a yellow-green, juicy flesh that is sweet, but has a much better flavor when cooked.

‘Seneca’

This hardy, upright, and vigorous tree reliably bears good crops of very large, purple- red fruits late in the season. The plums have bright yellow- orange flesh and are delicious eaten fresh from the tree.

0

unsuitable for containers

5

early spring or fall

1

some resistance

q

fairly hardy

6

self-fertile (mid)

2

late summer

0

unsuitable for containers

5

early spring or fall

1

good resistance

q

hardy

7

partially self-fertile (mid)

57

PLUMS

In document COMUNIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE CATALUÑA (página 59-64)