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Post by ladybird on Aug 18, 2020 17:51:42 GMT
My "Victoria plum" tree has fruited for the first time since planted in 2017 and as you can see there is a problem  and not much taste to the ripe fruit either. As I have posted before about a problem damson merryweather tree on a julian rootstock suckered all over the place in another part of the garden and which I finally chopped down this year , I dread that I was sent the wrong tree and this may be another damson. I have sent a message to Parkers hoping that they can confirm that I didn't order a plum tree with dark fruits . Is there any way to tell for sure if this is a damson tree.  |
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Post by Cherry on Aug 19, 2020 9:24:35 GMT
Have you tasted the fruit ladybird? Damsons are not nearly as sweet as Victoria Plum. It does look a darker colour than Victoria, but that is hard to see in the photograph. As you mention, Damsons come in different varieties too. You may be sent another plum from Parkers, which would be nice, but this one is fruiting now and deserves a reprieve. |
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Post by ladybird on Aug 19, 2020 10:50:44 GMT
Have you tasted the fruit ladybird? Damsons are not nearly as sweet as Victoria Plum. It does look a darker colour than Victoria, but that is hard to see in the photograph. As you mention, Damsons come in different varieties too. You may be sent another plum from Parkers, which would be nice, but this one is fruiting now and deserves a reprieve. This is definitely not a victoria plumb cherry which is red and yellow coloured. The one fruit I tasted was quite bland and larger than the damson on my old tree so possibly another variety of plum other that Damson . I spent yesterday searching through my old garden file notes and there was not a mention of the tree but I had a wee look through the site here and discovered that in 2014 I bought a Victoria plum on a Julian rootstock in Asda for £5 so this must be it.Typically of me I probably kept it in pot until 2016 so at least its not to big to be removed .
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Post by Andrew on Apr 3, 2022 9:37:31 GMT
Thought I'd piggy back this thread, rather than start a new one..
For starters my Victoria Plum tree (growing in the lawn) is over 40 years old, which I know is well beyond the average lifespan of 10-15 years quoted on some sites. It has generally fruited pretty well until the past few years though. Maybe I have pruned it a little hard the past few years to keep it in shape, but there now appears to be a whole branch showing no signs of any blossom or opening buds, so think the tree is slowly dying.
My neighbour replaced his similar tree in the same spot in his garden a few years ago now, and whilst it had plenty of blossom it doesn't seem to fruit particularly well, although is still a young tree.
I know some people say not to dig out and replant a tree in exactly the same spot or at least for a few years, but what are peoples thoughts on doing so, and anything I should do to the ground before replanting if I do take it out this year?
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Post by SueA on Apr 4, 2022 7:37:09 GMT
I haven't ever planted the same variety of tree to replace one which has been dug out Andrew but I can see that there may be problems especially if the original tree may have died because of disease etc. If you think it's just dying of old age you might be able to get away with doing what you can get away with when replanting roses in the same spot, dig out as much of the soil where the roots were as you can & replace it either with soil from a different area in the garden mixed with some compost or just some compost or new soil & use some mycorrhizal fungi rubbed onto the tree roots & sprinkled into the hole to help the new tree establish. |
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Post by Cherry on Apr 4, 2022 9:37:31 GMT
That will be a heavy root to dig out after 40 years, Do exactly as SueA has said, to give a new fruit tree the best possible start. You are right to consider the soil before planting. Our plants deserve the best start in life. If you decide to try the living branch again, prune it in June, not winter, and tie the branch down to a weight. This worked for me when I lived near Oxford. I am surprised you have no blossom as this year has been good and hopefully was pollinated before this recent cold spell. Last year, was not great for early plums, but Victoria plum was later and there was plenty of fruit. |
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Post by Andrew on Apr 6, 2022 19:25:25 GMT
There is some blossom on the tree, but not as much as some of the neighbours tree's, although I'm not aware that they pruned theirs last year. Like I say it could just be that I pruned it a bit heavily in the late summer the past few years and that's why it's not fruiting as heavily as before. At the same time like I say it is an old tree, but will perhaps give it a while longer and maybe a lighter prune all over this year before I make any final decisions on digging it out completely, which will certainly be a big job. Thanks for the advice both of you.  |
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Post by Cherry on Apr 9, 2022 8:21:56 GMT
That’s alright Andrew, I forgot to say that when I got my old Victoria plum in Oxfordshire to bear fruit, someone came and pinched every plum before I even had one. Please let us know how you get on with the tree. |
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Post by Andrew on Apr 9, 2022 19:58:30 GMT
I've had another good look at the tree today, and decided this year will be it's last, as found a few other smaller branches with no sign of life, so clearly it's not in good health. I'll see if the little blossom I've had on the other branches produces any fruit, and then start the big job of cutting it down and digging it out at the back end of the year.
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Post by daitheplant on Apr 10, 2022 17:44:32 GMT
Andrew, any chance of a photo? My guess is that there is nothing wrong with the tree itself. If you "hard prune" any fruit tree you will lose the crop because the tree needs to replace the material you cut off. Rule 1 do not prune every year, rule 2 Just cut out any dead or damaged wood, also, if it is a grafted tree (highly likely) make sure you remove any growth from the graft.
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Post by Andrew on Apr 24, 2022 15:19:08 GMT
That's probably where I'm going wrong thanks daitheplant. I've pruned quite hard the past couple of years and cut back a lot off that years growth. I'll maybe give the tree a stay of execution and see what happens, if I leave it alone this year. |
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Post by daitheplant on Apr 24, 2022 19:01:53 GMT
First rule of gardening Andrew is, patience.  |
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and not much taste to the ripe fruit either. As I have posted before about a problem damson merryweather tree on a julian rootstock suckered all over the place in another part of the garden and which I finally chopped down this year , I dread that I was sent the wrong tree and this may be another damson.
