All fruit trees certified virus free with a FREE FRUIT TREE WARRANTY. Most are UK seeds/grown with up to 4 years root and 2 years tree growth or more. Smaller rootstocks can bear fruit the first year. Looking to buy several fruit trees? Click here for our FREE FRUIT TREE OFFER. All basic pruning requirements completed before delivery.
Opal Plum Tree
Our Opal Plum tree is a cross between the plum/gage varieties Oullins Green Gage x Early Favourite, Opal (Prunus domestica 'Opal') hails from Sweden where it was introduced in 1925. One of the most reliable garden plums, and often referred to as an early Victoria. Opal pears are of medium size, with a reddish-purple colour with a superb flavour. A self-fertile plum, therefore only one plum tree is required for pollination.
Month of Picking: Late-July
Type of Plum: Eating
Fertility: This plum is self-fertile so no other plum is required nearby for it to produce fruit.
This plum is in flowering period C3 so if you have a non self-fertile plum tree in period C2,C3 or C4, you can use our Opal plum as a pollination partner so your tree will produce plums.
This variety of plum tree is supplied in a 7 litre container, which means that the tree can be planted any time of the year and with better results than either bare-root or rootballed trees.
Please choose which root stock you require from the drop down list below.
Final heights can also be controlled by container size or pruning.
Plum Tree Rootstocks explained
The root stock options listed for your plum tree are made up from the options listed below. These generally tell you the shape and size of your mature plum tree.
St Julien A: Roughly 45cm of clear stem and pruned to be more of a bush shape. Likely to flower more in the Spring. Expected final height of 3.6m.
Pixy: Pruned to be more of a bush shape. Expected final height of 3.0m. Considered semi-dwarf.
St Julien A (Half Standard): 1m of clear trunk and pruned to be a traditional tree shape. Ideal for gardens as this allows you to easily cut the grass and companion plant underneath if desired. Expected final height of 3.6m. Considered semi-vigorous.
Bush: Side branches start much lower down the trunk giving more of a bush shape.
V.VA1: Comparable to Pixy in terms of height and used by commercial growers. Final height around 2.5m. Ideal for small gardens.
7 Litre pots: A cheaper option but could be slightly thinner trunk and a little less developed due to roots being restricted. Generally 2 years old or more.
12 Litre pots: 2 years old or more.
Bare Root: Delivery from November to March only. Comes with roots exposed, no compost or pot. Much cheaper, must be planted before March and roots not allowed to dry out.
Maiden: 1 year old, little side branches, used as "blank slate" for training e.g. Espallier, Fan etc.
Important Plum Tree information
All our trees are container grown which means you can plant them ANYTIME OF THE YEAR. However plum fruit trees may not winter well if left in their containers and may die so you need to plant as soon as you get them especially if purchased between October and March. Keeping them protected in a heated conservatory or green house should solve this issue.
Mirabelle Plum Pollination
Technically speaking it is possible to use Mirabelle plum trees to pollinate standard plum trees but has more risk than using a standard plum tree. If your plum tree is self-fertile, this of course is not an issue.
Trouble Choosing
Cannot decide which fruit tree? Take a look at our TOP SELLING FRUIT TREES
Wet Ground
If you have wet conditions then choose a PEAR TREE first, followed by APPLE TREES. They don't prefer it but will tolerate water, H2O or liquid better, depending which one you have most of!
General Fruit Tree Life Expectancy
Most fruit trees will give you AT LEAST 40 years of fruit. Pears can go to 70. Records of 200 year old trees exist but this is the exception, not the rule.
General Pollination Information
For more information on pollination please look at POLLINATION EXPLAINED or choosing the CORRECT POLLINATION PARTNER
