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Propagation (Budding and grafting)

Budding and grafting are the chief methods by which varieties of Plums are propagated. Young trees may also be readily raised from seeds, and from suckers. Suckers are only occasionally used, and should never be employed as stocks. The Plum is naturally inclined to spread its roots, and throw up numerous suckers; and, if these are replanted, or used as stocks, the tendency to be constantly throwing up other shoots from the base is afterwards apparent. Some sorts reproduce themselves nearly true from seeds, as, for instance, the Green Gage; but seedlings generally vary more or less from the original, and it is, therefore, best not to depend on this mode of propagation beyond the raising of seedlings as stocks, except, perhaps, with Damsons, which may be raised from the stones. Plum stocks are required in large numbers for Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots, as well as for Plums. The seeds may be sown when taken from the fruit; or they may be stratified, and sown in autumn or early spring. In the autumn following, the stocks will be ready for transplanting into nursery lines; preparatory to budding or grafting when large enough. For Plum stocks, the varieties best suited are the Damson, Mussel, St. Julien, and White Pear. The Mussel answers well as a stock for standard trees. Shield-budding in July and August, and ordinary cleft-grafting in March, or just before the sap ceases to flow in September, are the most successful methods to adopt. In budding, it is most important that wood, and not blossom, buds be inserted; and, in grafting, wood-buds, which are sometimes very scarce on scions, must be carefully preserved. Stocks for grafting must be prepared by being headed-down early in the year, before growth begins; and the scions should be cut at the same time, or even earlier, and laid with their ends in the ground. Attention must specially be given to this particular, or a successful union of the parts at grafting-time will be out of the question. Standard Plums may be worked near the ground, and the scion allowed to make its own stem, or at the proper height, according as the variety may be a vigorous or a weak-growing one. New varieties are raised from seeds.

Soil and Situation. Plum-trees succeed in any fairly good loamy soil, provided the subsoil is open and properly drained. The ground should be well trenched previous to planting, although the roots of Plums are naturally disposed nearer to the surface than those of Apples and Pears. In a very rich soil, the growths usually made are too vigorous to become well ripened; in that which is moderately light, yet sufficiently moist, the trees succeed and produce the best-flavoured fruits. Respecting flavour, however, much depends on the amount of sunshine and light available. In market gardens, where the trees under notice are very extensively grown, they are planted in lines ranging from 15ft. to 20ft. apart, and the intervening spaces are occupied with Gooseberries and Currants. Standards and half-standards are generally favoured; but dwarf and bush-trees are also extensively planted in market as well as in private gardens. All the finer dessert sorts should, if possible, be favoured with wall space in private establishments, as their fruits are invariably of so much importance, and the crop is more certain with the protection of a wall than when the trees are fully exposed. A temporary covering, while the blossoms are open, may also be readily applied, should frost or unfavourable weather prevail. In a southern aspect, the fruits attain their highest flavour; but this position is usually required for Peaches and other trees that are less hardy than Plums, and the latter are relegated to the walls with an eastern or western exposure--positions in which they succeed admirably. As already noted, the roots of Plum-trees run near the surface, and especially is this the case when the soil is left undug. All the available border space is invariably required for numerous crops; and if a width of about 2ft. or 3ft. is left untouched next the wall, the other portion may be dug and cropped annually. The digging-over of this portion should not, however, be left longer than one season without being attended to, or the young roots will ascend, and the work cannot be performed without cutting them off.

Pruning, Training, &c. For Plum-trees against walls, the fan method of training is the best, as one or other of the branches is liable to die off occasionally, and its place can be more readily occupied by those next situated than would be possible with another method, as, for instance, horizontal training. For the open ground, standards, half-standards, pyramids, and bush trees, are available, as already stated. Mr. Rivers states that "Plums form most fertile oblique cordons; no matter how the shoots are pinched, they will produce large crops of remarkably fine fruit, and continue to bear in spite of excessive pinching, forming cylinders of fruit; their worst tendency is to excessive growth, which must be checked by root-pruning." Plums are admirably adapted for culture in pots: late sorts, which can only be ripened with difficulty outside, arrive at great perfection under glass. See Orchard House. The fruit of the Plum is produced on small spurs, which form in great quantities on the ends and along the sides of bearing shoots of from one to three years' growth--that is, supposing they are well ripened. In pruning, therefore, these spurs should be carefully preserved, and also a sufficient quantity of young wood kept annually to replace any which becomes old and unfruitful. The main branches on a fan-trained tree should be allowed plenty of space, and any irregular or misplaced ones removed, after provision can be made for filling their places with others of a better description. Summer pruning consists in shortening back the young shoots, treating the upper part of the tree first, to encourage the production of blossom-buds on the short spurs left. At the winter pruning, weak and un-ripened wood form the chief parts to be cut away. If Plum-trees become unfruitful, because of vigorous wood-growth, they should be lifted early in autumn, and root-pruned. It has been recommended that pyramid trees should be lifted and replanted, if necessary, every two years; this operation gives them a proper check, and greatly increases their fertility. Standard Plum-trees in the open ground, when once they are properly started, require but little pruning or training, unless the heads become too much crowded, when the weak wood should be cut out. If vigorous shoots appear, as they often will, in the centre of a young tree, they should be pinched at an early stage, in order to check the sap. Such shoots seldom ripen properly on any fruit-tree, and their production should not be encouraged. Sometimes excessive vigour may be materially checked by simply clipping off a quantity of the leaves, on shoots so disposed, across the centre, with a view to arresting the flow of sap to the leaves, and thus indirectly affecting its progress to unduly enlarge the shoot. Plums intended for dessert should be allowed to hang until they are nearly ready to drop from the tree; when only required for cooking, it is not of so much importance. The bloom on choice fruits should be carefully preserved, by handling only the stem when gathering them, and placing single layers in a shallow basket or box for transmitting to a cool fruit-room. Fruits with their bloom uninjured by rubbing are better able to withstand atmospheric changes than are those roughly handled, the bloom being their natural protection. Some few sorts, amongst which Coe's Golden Drop is a well-known example, will keep good for dessert a long time after being gathered, if wrapped in paper, and stood in a dry, airy place: these fruits attain their highest flavour when they become partially shrivelled. Plums and Damsons for cooking may be sent, before they get too ripe, very long distances, by being packed closely in a box, with a little soft chaff shaken in to fill up interstices between them. That cut from Oat straw is the best.

Sorts. The following list includes most of the best varieties of Plums, both for dessert and kitchen use, which ripen from the early until the latter part of the season. There are many others in cultivation which it is thought unnecessary to refer to here, but it is not unlikely that some are omitted which should have had their merits recognised. Plenty are, however, enumerated for all purposes.

Angelina Burdett. Fruit round, of medium size; skin dark purple, thickly covered with brown spots and a blue bloom; flesh very rich and juicy. A good dessert Plum, which ripens early in September, and may be kept until it shrivels, when the flavour is very rich.

Autumn Compote (Rivers'). Fruit oval, very large, bright red, and handsome, of first-rate quality for preserving. End of September. A valuable, late culinary variety.

Belgian Purple. Fruit medium or large, roundish, deep purple; flesh juicy and richly flavoured. Middle of August. Dessert or kitchen. Belle de Septembre. Fruit large and handsome, roundish-oval, reddish-purple, covered with yellow spots and a thin bloom. Early in October. An excellent kitchen sort. The tree is an enormous bearer.

Blue Imperatrice. Fruit medium, roundish-ovate, deep purple, with thick, blue bloom; flesh rich, but not very juicy. October. An excellent variety for preserving and for dessert; when allowed to hang, the fruits become very richly flavoured. The tree is an excellent bearer; is should be grown against a wall.

Bryanston Gage. Fruit large, round, green, blotched with red; flesh juicy and rich. September. A large and excellent variety of GREEN GAGE, which ripens about a fortnight later than the last-named. Dessert. Coe's Golden Drop. Fruit very large, oval, pale yellow, with numerous dark red spots; flesh juicy, rich, and most delicious when well ripened. End of September. One of the finest late Plums for dessert or preserving. The tree deserves a wall, but bears well in the open; it is also well adapted for pot culture.

Cooper's Large. Fruit medium or large, oval, dark purple next the sun, with numerous brown dots; flesh juicy, and of rich flavour. End of September and beginning of October. Dessert De Montfort. Fruit medium sized, roundish, dark purp'e, with thin, blue bloom; flesh juicy, rich, and excellent, particularly when the fruit shrivels. Middle of August. A first-rate dessert Plum which resembles ROYAL HATIVE, but the fruits are larger.

Denniston's Superb. Fruit rather large, nearly round, greenish yellow, marked with a few blotches, and covered with bloom; flesh juicy, rich, and deliciously flavoured. Middle of August. Dessert. The tree is very hardy, and a great bearer.

Diamond. Fruit very large, oval, deep purple; flesh juicy, and briskly flavoured. Middle of September. One of the finest culinary Plums known. Tree vigorous, and an excellent bearer.

Early Favourite (Rivers'). Fruit medium, roundish-oval, dark purple, covered with a thin bloom; flesh juicy, and of excellent flavour. Middle of July. Mr. Rivers states, in his catalogue, that it "requires a wall with south or south-west aspect, and is then the earliest of all early Plums." Early Rivers (Rivers'). Fruit oval, medium sized, deep purple; flesh juicy, sweet, and brisk. End of July. A good, early Plum and a great bearer; valuable for preserving, because the fruits, though not large, are unusually heavy. This variety is also sometimes called EARLY PROLIFIC. Goliath. Fruit very large, oblong, reddish-purple. End of August. A large, showy Plum, best suited for culinary purposes and preserving. Grand Duke (Rivers'). Fruit very large, purple, with blue bloom. Middle of October. Kitchen. A seedling raised by Mr. Rivers from AUTUMN COMPOTE; a valuable addition to late varieties, either for market or private gardens. Green Gage. Fruit round, medium sized, yellowish-green, marked, when ripe, with faint crimson sports, and covered with a grey bloom; flesh tender, melting, and of a most delicious flavour. End of August. Well known as being one of the richest-flavoured of all Plums, invaluable for dessert, and amongst the very best for preserving. The tree is hardy, and an excellent bearer; it produces the largest fruits on a wall, but the most richly-flavoured ones are generally those from standards grown in the open ground. Guthrie's Late Green. Fruit large, round, yellowish-green, covered with a thin bloom; flesh yellow, firm, and very rich. Middle and end of September. A valuable late dessert Plum. The tree is hardy, and very productive. Huling's Superb. Fruit very large, roundish-oval, yellow; flesh rich, sugary, and highly flavoured. End of August. A fine large dessert Plum. Ickworth Imperatrice. Fruit medium or large, purple; flesh tender, juicy, and of rich flavour. October. An excellent late dessert variety; the fruits, if allowed to hang until they shrivel, attain a high flavour; after being gathered, they may be kept for a long time in a dry place, if wrapped in soft paper.

Imperiale de Milan. Fruit large, oval, dark purple, dotted with yellow; flesh yellowish, juicy, and rich. Beginning of October. Good for dessert and preserving; late.

Jefferson. Fruit large, oval, yellow, mottled with red; flesh firm, juicy, and deliciously flavoured. Beginning of September. One of the finest dessert Plums. The tree is an abundant bearer.

July Green Gage. Fruit similar in size and shape to the GREEN GAGE; it is also of equally good quality, and may be considered a very valuable early variety. End of July.

Kirke's. Fruit medium, round, dark purple, covered with a dense, blue bloom; flesh firm, juicy, very richly flavoured. Middle of September. A delicious dessert Plum, one of the best. The tree is very hardy and productive. Late Green Gage. Fruit smaller than the GREEN GAGE, round, greenish-yellow; flavour rich and good. A good late dessert Plum, which ripens at the beginning of October.

Late Rivers. Fruit medium or small, round, dark purple, almost black; flesh yellow, of very fine flavour. End of October and beginning of November. A valuable, extremely late variety, raised by Mr. Rivers. Lawrence's Favourite. Fruit large, round, dull yellowish-green, covered with grey bloom; flesh tender, juicy, and rich. Beginning of September. Dessert. The tree is a free grower and bearer; it forms a beautiful pyramid. McLaughlin's. Fruit large, yellow, mottled with red, and covered with a thin bloom; flesh firm, sweet, very juicy and rich. Middle and end of August. A large and delicious dessert Plum of the GREEN GAGE race. Mirabelle. Fruit very small, oval, yellow, covered with a light bloom, and marked with reddish spots next the sun; flesh deep yellow, firm, briskly flavoured. Middle of August. Valuable for preserving and culinary purposes. The tree often bears its fruit in clusters; it forms a beautiful pyramid, and is well adapted for pot culture.

Mitchelson's. Fruit medium-sized, oval, deep purple, almost black, covered with a thin blue bloom. End of August and beginning of September. A fine Plum for cooking and preserving. The tree is a prodigious bearer. Orleans. Fruit medium, round, dark red or purple when fully ripe; flesh tender, and briskly flavoured. Middle and end of August. An old, well-known, and highly valued culinary sort, excellent for preserving, but only second-rate for dessert. It is an abundant bearer, and does best against a wall. There are also varieties known as the EARLY and LATE ORLEANS, in reference to their season of ripening.

Oullins Golden. Fruit very large, greenish-yellow, dotted with crimson where exposed, and covered with a delicate bloom; flesh very tender, juicy, and delicious. Beginning and middle of August. An excellent and very handsome early dessert Plum. Tree unusually fertile.