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 The plum varieties adapted to New Jersey are of great
diversity. All species and various horticultural varieties
have distinct tree and fruit characteristics. The two most
important species are Prunus salicina, Lendl, the
Japanese varieties and Prunus domestica, Linn, the garden
or European varieties. Varieties of Prunus americana ,
Marsh, the common wild or American plum have been
hybridized with Prunus salicina varieties to produce
some excellent flavored plum varieties for small plantings
in New Jersey. Plum culture has not been widespread in
New Jersey because of limited research on selecting
cultivars/rootstock combinations adapted to our climate.
Generally, the Japanese plum varieties grow on
spreading to drooping trees and produce round to heart-
shaped fruit (pronounced apex) with yellow to red, to
almost black skin color. The European or common
garden plum varieties are more upright in growth habit
and produce oval-to ovate-shaped plums with blue to
black skin color. Some varieties have a dry texture, a
very high sugar content and are processed into prunes.
For this reason, many of these cultivars are commonly
called prunes. A botanical species insititia or damson
plum is part of this species, but is not recommended in
New Jersey. Varieties of the American or wild plum grow
on spreading trees and produce small round fruit of
various colors. No American varieties are suggested for
commercial production in New Jersey.
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slowly.
Fruitfulness is also a problem in Japanese plums
because of bloom variability, pollen incompatibility, and
sensitivity to variation in temperatures. The Japanese
varieties bloom earlier than other plum species. The
suggested varieties for small commercial plantings are
below.
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Santa Rosa:Medium size, round, dark red,
generally unproductive at Cream Ridge, NJ, but
occasionally sets good crop in South Jersey.
Shiro:Medium, round, yellow, yellow flesh,
excellent quality. Fairly productive in South
Jersey. Very similar to Early Golden.
Methley:Small, red, very good, strong tree. Never
did well at Cream Ridge, but productive in
South Jersey orchards without much cross-
pollination. A Japanese x American hybrid.
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Red Ace:Medium-large, red, heart shaped, yellow
flesh, good quality, one of the most productive at
Cream Ridge.
Redheart:Medium-large, red flesh, heart shaped.
One of the most productive at Cream Ridge.
Good pollinator.
Ozark Premier:Medium-large, reddish blush,
round, yellow flesh, fairly regular cropping at
Cream Ridge.
Formosa:Large, oval to round, slightly red blush,
yellow flesh. Inconsistent cropper in South
Jersey. Do not use as a pollinizor.
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The Japanese varieties grown on available rootstocks
are generally short-lived and relatively unproductive. The
trees are easily stressed by many of the same problems
affecting peach trees, namely winter injury, spring frost,
moisture stress, nematodes, root rots, and short life.
Some Japanese varieties also experience latent
incompatibility with available rootstocks and decline
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