BARE ROOT SEASON IS CLOSED FROM 1st APRIL, STARTS AGAIN NOVEMBER 2024
YOU CAN ORDER ANYTIME BUT DELIVERY IS AFTER NOVEMBER
Mature Bare Root Trees, click here mature bare root trees 180-600cm tall.
Buy Our Bare Root Plum Trees Because......
- All Bare Root Plum fruit trees certified virus free, Free UK Mainland Delivery with a FREE FRUIT TREE WARRANTY.
- Plum Maiden trees are 1 - 1.5 years old when sold, with 3 - 3.5 year old roots grafted on, all other Plum bare root are 2 - 2.5 year old trees with 4 year old roots (arguably a 4 year old tree).
- 1-3 years on average to produce fruit (depending on root stock).
- All basic pruning requirements completed before delivery.
- Tree consultant available to answer questions pre and post purchase.
- WHOLESALE PRICES AVAILABLE FOR ORDERS OVER £150 Call 0800 043 1057
Opal Plum Tree (BARE ROOT)
Opal plum trees provide a sweet dessert plum fruit that show a wide range of colours as they mature. You can expect to see bright yellows through to a deep purple, sometimes all on one fruit. The inside of the plum is a pale yellow and the taste is similar to a Greengage. One of the biggest selling points of the Opal plum is that it is one of the earliest cropping trees providing the first flush of the harvest in late July.
The Opal plum tree requires a little more consideration when purchasing especially if you live in the North of UK or planting where there is not that much sun e.g. shaded position. As you can already work out from the blossoming period and the time you get fruit the fruits are not on the tree for that long. This means that you plums of the Opal plum tree have less time to develop the sugars so the trade off with getting the plums earlier are that you run the risk of it being a bit of a bland plum when compared to other plums. Planting against a South facing wall will be ideal.
The fruits are medium sized and a good red colour turning blue when over ripe, this process taking up to 2 weeks so you won't have to deal with a sudden transition from un-ripe to ripe and finding emergency storage places for many plums.
As with many other plum trees, the Opal plum tree fruits can benefit from thinning the harvest out by picking off some of the smaller blossoms and weaker fruits closer to the stem to allow the plum trees efforts to go to developing a slightly smaller but better quality crop. This approach also reduces the chance of bi-annual cropping which is not such a big issue with the Opal plum.
Apparently if put in a bowl on a sunny day there is a distinctive plum aroma but we are only going off what "they" say about Opal plum trees and their fruits. We could not guarantee aroma qualities so please don't contact us in a few years time complaining that you purchased this tree with the specific intention of getting free air freshenner capabilities from your tree and want to return it due to lack of smell.
One final advantage is the easily removal stone from the flesh so you can feel better giving granny this plum because her dentures will part easily from the stone
Most important information
Month Of Fruiting: August
Type Of Plum: Eating
Fertility: (C3) SELF FERTILE
Bareroot Plum Supplied Height
We apologise for the broad supplied height of 1-2m in the Plum bare root product titles. This is because the height of your supplied Plum tree depends on your choice of root stock and the previous growing conditions e.g. weather we have had. As a general rule of thumb the Plum maiden root stock is younger and therefore shorter.
Plum Bare Root Stocks Explained
The type of root stock you buy dictates the age, shape and several other characteristics of your plum tree.
Brompton : Final height of around 4.0+ metres.
Half Standard St Julien A : Final height of around 3.6 metres with the branches starting higher up than the Bush (more conventional tree shape. 2+ years old.
Bush St Julien A : Final height of around 3.6 metres but the branches start lower down the tree (easier picking). 2+ years old.
Maiden St Julien A : Final height of around 3.6 metres. 1+ years old (ideal for Fan/Espalier Training or other shaping)
Maiden Pixy : Final height of around 3.0 metres. 1+ years old (ideal for Fan/Espalier Training or other shaping) Will provide plums a little earlier than St Julien A rootstock.
Bush : This indicates the shape of the plum tree. A bush will have the branches starting lower down the tree to give a bush shape.
All bare root plants need to be planted between November and March whereas our containerised plum trees can be planted all year round. Select the root stock you desire from the drop down menu below or if you are unsure, telephone us on 0800 043 1057 or use the enquiry page.
All bare root plants need to be planted between November and March whereas our containerised plum trees can be planted all year round. Select the root stock you desire from the drop down menu below or if you are unsure, telephone us on 0800 043 1057 or use the enquiry page.
Basic Pollination Explanation
If a plum tree is listed as SELF FERTILE then it produces fruit if planted by itself. If not, then it will belong to 1 of 5 pollination groups (C1,C2,C3,C4 or C5), each group being a 1-2 week block of time in April-May when the plum tree blossoms. When in blossom (or flowers) this is when a non self-fertile plum tree requires a pollination partner from the same group or one up or one down. For example a C3 non self-fertile plum tree requires another C2,C3 or C4 plum nearby.
Partially self-fertile plum trees provide fruit by themselves but give more plums if a pollination partner is close by. A typical housing estate is likely to have other plum trees close enough.
Plum Bare Root Season
The Plum bare root season is from November to March/early April depending on weather. If you order outside of these times, your order will be held until bare root trees are back in season. If you order before the season starts, you will get "pick of the bunch" as first come first served and the best trees are sent out first.
MAKE SURE YOU SELECT THE ROOT STOCK YOU WANT AS SOME ARE CHARGED EXTRA FOR
Fruit Tree Heights
Taller does not mean more value for money. A 1 year old fruit tree can easily be substantially higher than a 2 year old, this is because they are hard pruned at 1 year old to create the desired shape. Some trees have over 100cm of height removed. They can then have another pruning at 2 years old to increase fruit growing real estate. Most fruit trees will benefit from having a third to half of the seasons new growth cut back in the Autumn to prevent long whippy branches which break easily. Age and pruning completed determine real value.
Do I Need To Stake My Bare Root Tree?
9 out of 10 times the answer will be no, especially if under 200cm tall. However our article on Tree Staking should help guide you.
Planting In The Corner Of A Garden
Air and light is reduced in this location which could promote fungus and bacterial issues. If the corner is of the house and a fence then you also have leeching issues to contend with from cement and wood preservatives. Also when it rains, that area would experience higher water levels so we advise against it unless the plant is very hardy.
1 Year Maiden Bare Root Trees
If you plant a 1 Year maiden tree and do not prune it at all, it will grow a little more upright and have more clear stem.
