Plum

Plant family

Rose family (Rosaceae)

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Moist

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

Medium

Dark germinator

Germination temperature

10 - 15 °C (Degrees Celsius)

Plant distance

450 cm

Row spacing

450 cm

Seeding depth

5 cm

Instructions

Description

Plums belong to the plum family and both belong to the rose family. Compared to the classic plum, damsons are slightly longer and smaller with a darker, usually deep purple skin. Another typical feature of plums is the stone, which can be easily removed from the flesh, making them ideal for cooking or baking. Plums are particularly popular in traditional baking recipes for plum cake. But they are also very suitable for compote, jam or chutneys. They are typically harvested in late summer/autumn and often keep longer than other plum varieties. Due to their firmness, they keep their shape when cooked and baked, which distinguishes them from many other types of plum.

Growing tips

When sowing, it is important to note that plum seeds require a preceding cold period (so-called stratification) before they germinate. This requires temperatures between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius. After the cold period, the seeds then germinate in spring at warmer temperatures (between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius). Normally, however, plum trees are not grown from seed, but are purchased as grafted young trees. You can plant the young trees either in the fall or spring. Most plum trees are cross-pollinators, which means that they need another plum tree nearby in order to bear fruit.