Martensville Messenger September 1, 2016 | Page 10

Page 10 - asePtemBer 1, 2016 - martensville messenger

LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED FOR 20 YEARS!

GARDENING

getting the most From Your Plum trees
Sara Williams

Two of my favourite plums for fresh eating, crisps and
plum cake are ‘Patterson Pride’ and ‘Pembina’.

‘Patterson Pride’ was one of Dr. Cecil Patterson’s selections
from 1942 but not introduced until 1960 (Dr. Patterson
was the first head of the University of Saskatchewan’s
Horticulture Science Department). Its fruit is sweet, tender
and juicy with bright red skin and golden flesh. The 4.5 cm
diameter free-stone plums ripen from mid-August onwards.
The tree is semi-dwarf with slightly weeping branches.
‘Pembina’ matures a week or so later. Its fruit is 5 cm in
diameter with orange-gold, soft, juicy and sweet flesh
wrapped in dark red skin with a heavy bluish bloom,
almost purple. The tree is more upright, spreading and
vase-shaped.

•
‘Fofonoff’ (syn. ‘Homesteader’) – 4 cm; flesh is
light green, firm, juicy, very sweet; free-stone; light green
skin with pink bloom, thin and tender; good for fresh eating
and jam.
•
‘Ivanoka’ – 3.5-4 cm; flesh is orange-pink, firm,
juicy, swee t; semi-free-stone; skin is yellow with red overlay; good for jam and pies.

Email Rachelle
rcamsell@
martensvillemessenger.ca

One of the perceived problems with growing plums is
pollination. Without successful pollination there is no
fruit. So, what makes a good pollinator? As Darryl Fehr
of the Little Tree Nursery, Martensville, puts it, “Nobody
knows what the plums are doing at night.” But it is not
as complicated or confusing as once thought. There are
4 major groups of prairie-hardy plums: (a) hybrids of the
Asian and Canada wild plums (b) Canada plum selections
(c) Asian plum selections, and (d) cherry plums.

to get
ABOVE: Pembina plum (Sara Williams)

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Canada plum (P. nigra) selections are the second group of
plums in terms of pollination. ‘Dandy’, in this group, is
best pollinated by a Canada wild plum. Its clingstone fruit
is 3-4 cm in diameter with yellow, mild and juicy flesh. The
skin is yellow blushed with red, thin, tender but astringent
and slightly bitter. Only fair for fresh eating, it is excellent
for jam. It is also an excellent pollinator for other early
flowering plums such as ‘Brookgold’.

Resumes can be dropped off at City Hall
Attn: Fire Chief Kurt Dyck

The Asian plum cultivars will pollinate each other. You
will need two different cultivars within bee-flying distance.
Among these are:
•
‘Brookgold’ – 2.5-3 cm; bright gold skin with
orange blush; juicy, very sweet yellow flesh; free-stone;
great for fresh eating; poor for canning and jam.

YOU WANT IT

The last group is the cherry plums, hybrids between the
western sandcherry (P. besseyi) and the Asian plum. Among
these are ‘Dura’, ‘Manor’, ‘Opata’ and ‘Green Elf’. Their
fruit is about 3 cm in diameter and very flavourful. Cherry
plum cultivars will pollinate each other; sandcherries will
also pollinate the cherry plums. However, contrary to
popular belief, sandcherries will not pollinate plums.

Planted about 30 years ago on a sandy knoll, they have
been amazingly drought-tolerant and are still producing
well.

‘Patterson Pride’ and ‘Pembina’ are in the first group,
hybrids of our native Canada wild plum (Prunus nigra)
and the Asian plum (P. salicina). Others in this group are
‘Prairie’, ‘Supreme’, ‘Superb’ (syn. ‘Perfection’), ‘Geddes’
and ‘Brookred’. These hybrids will not pollinate each other
or any other plum. In order to produce fruit, these hybrids
must be planted close enough to a Canada wild plum for
a bee to transfer pollen. Although less available in the
nursery trade than they once were, several prairie nurseries
continue to offer Canada wild plums. Their fruit is small
but they make an excellent ornamental as well as serving in
the role of pollinator.

YOU SAW IT

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