33.plum varieties in the world By Allah Dad Khan

2. By
Allah Dad Khan

3. Japanese Plums
 Japanese plums actually originated in China but
were brought to this country via Japan in the 1800s.
They are not quite as sweet as European plums,
though their flesh is much juicier. Two varieties that
are excellent for fresh eating and canning are
'Satsuma', a large, dark red, sweet plum, and 'Santa
Rosa', a large plum with crimson skin and purple
flesh that turns yellow near the skin.

4. Damson
 Damson is a small, oval-shaped plum
with an indigo skin and yellow-green
flesh. It has an acid flavor, and is
usually used for jelly, jams or for
damson gin. If the fruit is left on the
tree very late, it has an acceptable
eating quality, if rather sharp. The trees
are vigorous and bear heavily, bearing
very well in the warm temperate areas.
This plum is very disease resistant. Its
white flowers are borne in umbel-like
clusters of 2-3 on short spurs, and the
foliage is dark green. Fruit production
begins in 3-4 years. This tree bears
heavy crops of purplish-blue, juicy, tart
plums that ripen in August to October.
The tree adapts to wide range of soil
types but requires moist soil. It is hardy
in cold climates and tolerates strong
winds. Rainfall and high humidity
during the growing season can cause
the fruit to crack. Thinning is not
necessary for Damson plums.

5. Early Golden
 The early golden is one of
the first plums of the
season, ripening in the
second part of
July. Similar to shiro
plum, it is small to medium
in size, firmer than the
shiro, mild tasting, sweet
and does not stick to the
pit. The early golden is an
excellent choice to satisfy
your early season sweet
tooth.

6. Starking Delicious –
 This new variety is
gaining acclaim for its
great taste and ease of
growing. It is disease
resistant making it a very
environmentally friendly
option. Ripening in the
second week of August,
this deep red Japanese
plum is a delicious
summer treat.

7. Methley
 Methley is a very early
ripening Japanese plum.
The fruit is purple with
red, sweet flesh, very
juicy with a distinctive
flavor. This plum is an
attractive tree, heavy
bearing and vigorous.
Trees are self-fertile and
productive. The chilling
requirement is 250 hours
or less.

8. Santa Rosa
 Santa Rosa is a medium large,
crimson to purplish red, lightly
freckled plum with yellow flesh
slightly suffused with pink. The
fruit is firm, sweet, juicy, and
aromatic. It is one of the most
frequently planted Japanese
plums. The tree is considered self-
fruitful and a good pollinizer. Fruit
buds are susceptible to winter
injury in northern climates. This is
the Asian plum introduced by
Luther Burbank with the famous
“Santa Rosa” flavor—both tart at
the skin and at the stone, but the
flesh in between is pure succulence
with a sweet, classic “plummy”
flavor. The chilling requirement is
300 hours.

9. Wickson

10. Burbank
 – The Burbank is a well-
known old variety. The
fruit is medium-sized and
has attractive orange-red
color that covers most of
the surface with a base
color that is amber-
yellow. The flesh is yellow,
fine-grained, firm and
juicy, sweet and very good
tasting. The peak harvest
is in the second part of
August-beginning of
September

11. Red Heart
 you would be fortunate to
find the redheart at the
farmers market in mid-
august. A finicky producer,
the redheart is one of the
tastiest plums grown in the
state. It is aesthetically
appealing being large,
smooth, and heart-shaped
with dark purplish red skin
covered with golden
specks. The flesh is blood
red, firm and juicy. There
are few other varieties that
rival the redheart’s sweet
aromatic goodness

12. Fortune
 The fortune is a large
bright red plum on a
yellow background. The
flesh is yellow, firm and
juice. This attractive,
good-tasting plum ripens
in mid to second part of
September

13. Shiro
 Shiro originated in California in
1899. It has medium, round,
greenish-yellow fruit with a pink
blush. The juicy, translucent flesh
has a mild sweet flavor. It is
excellent for fresh eating,
cooking, canning and dessert.
The tree is low growing,
spreading, very hardy and
prolific (may need thinning.) It
is a good pollinizer, but not for
itself. The chilling requirement is
600 hours. It bears reliably in
many climates and is self-fruitful.
Japanese plums are vigorous and
need another Japanese plum to
pollinate them.

14. Ruby Queen
 The Rubyqueen is a
medium sized fruit with
a firm flesh and excellent
flavor. It has a beautiful
dark red/black skin with
a deep red flesh. This is
really a jem of a plum

15. Shiro
 The first plum of the
season for us, ripening in
mid-August. Shiro is a
yellow skinned, yellow
fleshed sweet plum. It’s
size is often smaller than
the later plums. The
flavor is sweet with very
little tanginess.

16. Beauty Plum
 Sweet, flavorful plum,
more widely adapted
than Santa Rosa (more
productive in cool, rainy
climates). Red over
yellow skin, amber flesh
streaked red. Ripens
June in Central CA, a
week or more before
Santa Rosa. 250 hours.
Self-fruitful

17. Red Beauty
 It is a variety of the Japanese plum,
with the rounded fruit, medium thick
calibre, considering that it is a very
early variety. Red to dark red skin,
depending on the maturity degree.
Yellow flesh, hard texture and good
flavour. It bears handling and
transport. Very vigorous tree, open
habit, self-sterile. The maturation
period takes place from the end of May
to the beginning of June. As an
exception to the fact that Japanese
plum is produced in the warmest areas,
in the Ribera Alta (Comunidad
Valenciana, Spain), predominate the
Japanese early varieties, intended for
export, like " Red Beauty" that is
progressively replacing the varieties
Methley, Golden Japan and Formosa.

18. E U R O P E A N P L U M S W I L L G R O W W H E R E I T ' S N E I T H E R
T O O C O L D N O R T O O H O T . T H E F R U I T S A R E H I G H
Q U A L I T Y A N D V E R Y U N I F O R M . ' S T A N L E Y ' I S A
V E R S A T I L E E U R O P E A N P L U M T H A T I S W I D E L Y
A D A P T E D A N D P A R T I C U L A R L Y W E L L S U I T E D T O T H E
E A S T E R N R E G I O N S A N D S O M E O F T H E N O R T H W E S T .
I T ' S S E L F - F E R T I L E A N D V E R Y P R O D U C T I V E . A
M E D I U M T O L A R G E F R E E S T O N E P L U M , ' S T A N L E Y ' I S
E X C E L L E N T F O R E A T I N G F R E S H , C O O K I N G , O R
C A N N I N G . I T A L I A N P L U M S A R E S I M I L A R T O
' S T A N L E Y ' . T H E S E L A R G E , F R E E S T O N E P U R P L E
P L U M S A R E V E R Y S W E E T , P E R F E C T F O R D R Y I N G ,
E A T I N G F R E S H , O R C A N N I N G . ' S E N E C A ' I S A H I G H -
Q U A L I T Y E U R O P E A N P L U M T H A T L O O K S P R O M I S I N G
F O R T H E H O M E G A R D E N E R . I T M A T U R E S A B O U T O N E
W E E K B E F O R E ' S T A N L E Y ' . T H E F R U I T I S L A R G E ,
O B L O N G , A N D P U R P L E , W I T H G O O D F L A V O R F O R
E A T I N G F R E S H .
European Plums

19. Autumn sweet
 ’
It is a Japanese variety
with great size fruits,
dark red colour and even
darker when ripe. Sweet
flavour and yellow flesh.
Not very productive but
very good fruit
conservation. Maturation
from the middle to the
end of September.

20. Green Gage
 Green Gage was originally named
Reine Claude by the French, then
was renamed by the British around
1725. This is an ancient Armenian
variety, still widely grown due to
outstanding flavor. By any name,
this is surely one of the world's
great fruit varieties. This unique,
European cultivar has been in high
demand in local and roadside
markets for its excellent quality
and versatility. Not so long ago, the
Green Gage plum was the best
known and loved plum in Europe
and America. It is now heading for
extinction in this country, largely
due to trueness-to-name problems
that have made the real Green
Gage hard to find

21. Stanley
 Stanley is a large purplish-blue
freestone plum. The flesh is juicy,
sweet, and delicious. The plum has
greenish-yellow meaty flesh and is
freestone. It is harvested in late
summer. The tree is late blooming,
extremely cold hardy and reliable.
It does not require a pollenizer,
and is itself a useful pollenizer. The
tree is large and spreading, and
starts into fruiting young. It crops
heavily and reliably (late blooming
helps avoid late frost). Stanley is
very susceptible to brown rot, so it
will need to be sprayed with
fungicide in wet areas. The fruit are
also susceptible to splitting after
rain. The chilling requirement is
800 hours, and the tree is self-
fruitful.

22. Empress
 The Empress is a well-
known European plum
variety. It has large,
elliptical, symmetrical
fruit of very good
quality. The skin is
purple and covered with
heavy waxy bloom. The
flesh is greenish-yellow
and it is semi-cling. The
Empress is a very nice
late-season choice.

23. Blue Damson –
 The Blue Damson is an
old variety, renowned for
its superb preserves and
baking characteristics. It
is a small blue plum with
a yellow flesh. The
Damson is in high
demand throughout
farmer’s markets from
individuals longing for
the most mouthwatering
jams and most intriguing
plum bounces.

24. Autumn Sweet
 – The Autumn Sweet is a
new European blue-
skinned, yellow-fleshed
plum. It is said to have
superior quality to that of
the traditional Italian
plum. It ripens the first
week of September,
making it a great choice
for lunchboxes that kids
are sure to love.

25. Long John
 – The fruit of the Long
John is large and has an
interesting shape: it is
quite long and bit
“flattened”. The skin is
dark maroon, almost black,
and covered with the waxy
bloom, which gives it nice
blue color. The flesh is
orange, firm and pleasantly
tart. It is freestone and it
ripens with the Stanley at
the first of September, but
is larger and better quality.

26. N.Y. 9
 – This plum ripens in the first
week of September. The fruit
size varies due to the crop
load and goes from small to
large. The flesh is green and
the skin is purple, covered
with waxy bloom so it appears
blue. It has mild taste and is
rather sweet. Though, it is
processing variety, when
picked when the flesh color
starts changing from green to
amber, it has just enough acid
to make it well eating plum

27. American Hybrids
 If you live in a place where neither Japanese nor
European plums will grow because of the climate or
disease problems, American plums or bush plums may be
your best bet. Though very winter hardy, American bush
plums will produce well as far south as Florida. Fruits are
3/4 inch in diameter or larger, yellow or red, with a flat
stone. There's also the hardy beach plum, or shore plum,
which is found along the eastern shore from Maine to
Delaware. The fruit is delicious in preserves. The plants
are available commercially and can be pruned to a shrub
shape or small tree. Beach plums are very hardy and
enjoy poor, sandy soils.