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Minarette Plum tree (fail)

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  • #1

    Minarette Plum tree (fail)

    Just a warning to anyone buying one of these. You really DO need to keep up with the pruning. I planted mine only 4 years ago, and what with a broken ankle, then a neck injury, it got away from me a bit. The trunk is now 12 inches in circumference, and OH took the top out of it for me yesterday, so it's now about 12 ft tall. I've pruned it (well he did it from the ladder under my instructions) to a bush shape. The lowest branches are about 4 ft up the trunk and as I'm only 5ft, I don't have much hope of reaching much. Luckily our neighbour is quite happy with it where it is, and let us go into his garden to prune his side.

    I hope we get some plums next year, if not I've told him it can come down. We only got 3 this year, and although they were lovely, I haven't got the space for something that isn't productive. I can't find the receipt so I can't remember the name, but they are blue, and ripen mid September. It flowers quite late compared to my other one, which despite getting the same treatment, hasn't proved so rampent, and will be quite easy to get under control. They are both supposed to be self fertile, and there's loads of wild plums and damsons around too, so I wouldn't have thought that was the problem with the lack of fruit.
    Last edited by BarleySugar; 10-10-2010, 03:15 PM.
    I could not live without a garden, it is my place to unwind and recover, to marvel at the power of all growing things, even weeds!
    Now a little Shrinking Violet.

    http://potagerplot.blogspot.com/
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  • #2
    It sounds to me like you have very good soil, possibly combined with a vigorous variety and maybe it was on a fairly vigorous rootstock.

    The fruit buds for next year would have formed during the last couple of months. Quite likely your pruning will have removed many of the fruit buds for next year, so I dare say that it won't give much fruit until 2012.
    To give it a fair chance at fruiting, you might need to give it time to re-form fruit buds next summer for 2012.

    The very best way to control over-vigorous trees is no feeding, no watering, plant something underneath to compete with it (grass will do) and prune all the new growth back to just a couple of inches during July.

    This year, my hazels tried to "do a runner" and grew dramatically - 3-4ft in some cases!
    A merciless hard prune of all the new growth during July has resulted in them being loaded with catkins (pollen producing) and flower buds for next year.
    .

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    • #3
      Our soil is heavy clay, and funnily, floods down where the plum tree is during the winter. I thought it might kill it! Besides the top, the main bits I took out was the long whippy shoots with few leaves, we left all the small leafy shoots. If we've got rid of the fruit buds, perhaps we'll give it another year.
      I could not live without a garden, it is my place to unwind and recover, to marvel at the power of all growing things, even weeds!
      Now a little Shrinking Violet.

      http://potagerplot.blogspot.com/

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      • #4
        A minarette? I have a pear one in a pot, but i couldnt imagine any tree on such a small rootstock growing so thick. Must be extremely vigourous.

        I wouldn't say fail, you just managed to grow a very healthy tree in very poor soil; Congratulations!

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        • #5
          Originally posted by chrisguk View Post
          A minarette? I have a pear one in a pot, but i couldnt imagine any tree on such a small rootstock growing so thick. Must be extremely vigourous.

          I wouldn't say fail, you just managed to grow a very healthy tree in very poor soil; Congratulations!
          It is also possible that it was supplied on the wrong rootstock ("bargains" are known to all-too-often not be what the label says!).

          Another possibility is that the graft was planted at or below below ground level and the tree has put out its own vigorous roots - overriding the rootstock.

          Any tree can start life as a minarette, but the variety, the rootstock and the conditions can make quite a difference as to how fast it grows and how big it gets. Not all "patio"/"dwarf"/"minarette" trees are supplied on a rootstock that is suitable for the longer-term management of the plant.

          I'd be willing to bet that it's a very vigorous variety such as Majorie's Seedling, supplied on St.J.A rootstock. That combo would make a fast-growing, slow-to-fruit, full-sized tree, even in relatively poor soils.

          Plums in particular can do very well on heavy soil - and they often need a moisture-retaining soil during the entire growing season (heavy clay could provide just that). I've heard of plums being recommended for planting alongside ditches.

          If I remember correctly, the very wet district of Cumbria was once famous for plums.
          Last edited by FB.; 10-10-2010, 07:29 PM.
          .

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          • #6
            Rootstock and variaties of pears certainly arnt my stronger point, but i sure wish my minarette pear would fruit!

            If i was allowed to do so, i would of had a plum tree in that clay along time ago.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by chrisguk View Post
              Rootstock and variaties of pears certainly arnt my stronger point, but i sure wish my minarette pear would fruit!

              If i was allowed to do so, i would of had a plum tree in that clay along time ago.
              Is your pear growing and not fruiting?......or is is doing absolutely nothing?

              .

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              • #8
                Its growing great, plenty of new growth, but no fruit. I have seen fruit buds ready for next year so hopefully it will finally bare something.

                Oddly enough, towards the end of the summer i gave my grandma a potted pear tree acquired sometime last year, and it actually ended up flowering and baring a fruitlet. We never let it grow as it was to late; maybe its just me? Perhaps thats why i favour my apples

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                • #9
                  Next July, if the pear is growing too strongly, prune back most of the new shoots to a length of an inch or two. It'll help to form fruit buds for following seasons instead of the tree creating even more leaves and branches.

                  Regarding odd flowering times..........yes, a few of mine recently flowered.
                  My Egremont Russet (supposedly M26 but looks more like MM106) nearly always opens a few flowers at this time of year.
                  I also had a few small flowers recently on my Crawley Beauty (MM106).
                  One or two other apples and maybe pears flowered a little too, but I can't remember which.
                  .

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                  • #10
                    Ive heard that its possible for fruit trees, dependent on the climate of course, to bare a smaller second crop later on in the season, particularly in the States. Have you ever come across this due to the sunny south?

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                    • #11
                      I've occasionally had fruit trees blossom a second time when pollination was poor, but the fruits were small and didn't mature properly.
                      Given a suitably early-ripening variety that is self-fertile and in suitable conditions, I suspect that it is possible.
                      .

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