Victoria Plum Tree (BARE ROOT) Options Explained
Generic: 1+ year Maiden, usually VVA1 or Colt.
Maiden St Julien A Grows to 3.5m: 1 year old, bare root. Used to train into any other shape e.g. half standard, fan, espallier etc.
Maiden Pixy / VVA1 Grows to 3.0m: 1 year old, bare root, Used to train into any other shape e.g. half standard, fan, espallier etc.
Pixy / VVA1 Grows to 3.0m: 2-3 year old tree, bare root, bush form.
St Julian A Grows to 3.5m: 2-3 year old tree, bare root, bush form.
St. Julien A (Half Standard) Grows to 3.5m : 2-3 year old tree, around 80cm clear stem (lollipop shape)
Victoria Plum Tree
Victoria plum trees provide large freestone plums (freestone means you can pull the stone away easily from the flesh, not free of charge!). Expect recently picked Victoria plums to last about a week.
Victoria plums are ideal for eating, bottling or canning and are the most popular plum tree sold. This maybe due to the large amount of fruit that it provides or that it is a bit of a self fulfilling seller in that most kids visiting granny and grandad had Victoria plums and people tend to buy what they know. Even as far back as Victorian times, it was very popular and has maintained it's sales leading position since.
Sometimes, they can bear so much fruit that the branches break under their own weight. Removing some of the very young fruit or blossoms can prevent this problem and if you are going to do this, remove the ones that look smaller, diseased, not as well formed or closer to the trunk. The fruit on the edges of the branches receive most light and air making them generally healthier.
Some people may consider shop purchased Victoria plums to be of an inferior taste compared to other plums on the shelf. This could be down to them being picked far too early for commercial reasons. Less than ripe fruits, especially plums are firmer so travel better and last longer on the shelves, ripening at home. For a fairer comparison pick a Victoria plum when the skin is more red and less flushed with orange and you will notice a difference.
Of course we want to sell you our Victoria plum trees however you should know that these take a bit more looking after. They are a bit like your forgetful neighbour, they don't need oodles of care but popping in from time to time to make sure they are ok is a good idea. In more technical gardening terms, these are a little more susceptible to plum tree pests and diseases. On the upside, Victoria plum trees are suitable for planting right across the UK and this can include North West Scotland providing you don't live in a place where small children have to walk around with lead weights in their wellies to stop them becoming airborne and deep sea trawlers are regularly found washed up miles inland. The very large plum harvests also make it worth while having.
Silver Leaf And Plum Trees
Silver Leaf is a fungal disease caused by Chondrostereum purpureum and plum trees in general are susceptible to it and can be fatal if left un-treated for a long time (some trees may fight it off). The fungus gets into the tree through bad pruning, open wounds, frost cracks etc. enters the wound and travels upwards. this is why pruning is done in the summer when the fungus spores are not around (bear in mind that tree wounds take about a month to heal enough to protect against fungal attack if you don't paint them yourself). The spores are produced between September and May and particularly prevalent when wet. Best to prune Plum trees between June and August because the tree produces a gum which makes it much harder for the spores to spread.
If you must prune plum trees outside of the suggested time frame e.g. wind damage, immediately paint with a pruning sealant such as Arbrex or household emulsion.
Bad plum tree pruning days are those that are wet and moist e.g. rainfall in the last 24 hours, mist, fog, high humidity and no wind or sun. Good plum tree pruning days are those good for drying washing on the line e.g. sun, dry (less than 70% humidity)and high winds. The reason for this is spore production happens when the fruit (the ugly fungus you see on the tree) increases its water content to 75% (nearby bogs or other wet micro-climates still allow the production of spores even though it has been recently sunny). Frost does not kill the fungus fruits but temperatures over 20 degree centigrade reduce spore production significantly and less spores are around in the day.
You will know you have Silver Leaf on your plum tree when either the foliage turns silver and/or the branches start to go brown/purple and die off. Branches over 2.5 cm will have a brown tint/stain when cut especially when wet and this will tell you the difference between Silver Leaf and False Silver Leaf.
Silvering of plum tree leaves is not always obviously noticeable and is caused by a toxin produced by the fungus entering the leaves causing the upper layer to separate from the lower changing the light reflective properties of the leaf. No actual fungus is in the leaf.
You may notice a flat bracket shaped fungus on the tree 2-10cm across and overlap like tiles. They vary in appearance but will be fleshy when wet and shrivel in dry weather and of a brown or purple colour.
False Silver Leaf
False Silver Leaf makes the leaves look exactly the same as Silver Leaf as the two membranes of the leaf still part. This can be caused by tree stress such as other pest attack, hot or cold weather at the wrong time of year, lack of water and lack of nutrients, this is summarised as general tree stress which is obviously worse than "Captain Tree Stress". If you suspect Silver leaf, find a branch at least 2.5cm wide. Cut into it and wet the end, if it goes or appears brown you have Silver leaf. If the cut you make is very close to the trunk, the trunk most likely is infected and you should dig the tree out and burn it.
Treating Silver Leaf
The only effective treatment is removal of the infected material. Cut it out plus 10cm of good wood and burn immediately. Sterilise all instruments with household disinfectant between each cut. If the tree is diseased to the trunk it will most likely die and leaving it may infect other trees and plants too. It is possible that the plum tree may recover but you need to consider other trees and plants nearby in that they could become infected too.
Keeping your plum trees well watered, fed and mulched will reduce the chances of it catching Silver Leaf and buying the Pixy root stock will also help.
Summary
- Keeping your tree healthy with feeding and watering increases the plum trees resistance to Silver Leaf.
- Only prune in the summer when it has been dry for at least a day and during the day
- If you find diseased wood, cut it out plus 10cm of good wood and burn asap (disinfectant between each cut)
- Treat ALL open plum tree wounds on the same day
Most important information
Month Of Fruiting: Late August to Early September
Type Of Plum: Eating and Cooking
Fertility: (C3) SELF FERTILE
See What Our Customers Are Saying About Our Bareroot Victoria Plum Trees
Hello, Just to let you know, the tree has arrived and looks great. Thank you Hester 0221
