Because of blooming menses that vary widely from miscellanea to diverseness and do n’t always coincide , plum trees often do not place upright crops of fruit . Only a few types are ego - pollinating , so engraft different plum tree varieties together does help oneself . Since honeybees and some other dirt ball pollenate plums by transport pollen from tree diagram to tree diagram , orchard hives increase the chances of a good yield . Success is n’t certain because bees often prefer other types of forage . Mechanically applying commercially reap pollen requires equipment most small - scale growers do n’t own .
Step 1
Choose plum varieties that bloom at lapping clock time . Nurseries and Extension Services provide charts of compatible plum tree cultivars . Since bees prefer move around along rows , works pollinator plums in each row of fruiting plums and not in row of pollinators only .
Step 2
swerve back competing plants while plums blossom . Eliminate other anthesis plants in the orchard by mow during the unfold form to focus the foraging exploit of the local honeybee on the plum Tree .
Step 3
Place beehives in the orchard during the bloom so that the bees encounter the plum flower first . bee ranging beyond the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree will still work the plum tree flowers in passing .
Step 4
Set pollen applier trough at the entranceway of bee urtication . total one teaspoon of commercially produced plum tree pollen to the trough each daytime . bee give the hive take pollen with them , increasing the pollenation charge per unit in the orchard .
Step 5
Use pair of scissors to square the destruction of a No . 4 artist ’s pigment brush to 1/4 inch bristle duration . Dip the brush in a belittled container of plum pollen and smear the center of a plum heyday to reach pollinate small planting . Fertilize one peak in every six to avoid unusually heavy yield set .
Tip
Do n’t spray insect powder near plum tree during the blossom to avoid harming pollinating insect . Obilnaja and Shiro plums ego - pollinate . These miscellanea could respond to reach pollination from blossom to bloom , ward off the disbursal of purchasing commercially harvested pollen . Capeweed , low-toned - growing white trefoil and the weed Paterson ’s Curse all bloom heavily simultaneously with plums and take out forage bees aside from the plum blossoms . too soon spraying with weed killer to remove unfolding ground plant life from the grove can be the most in force root .
Warning
commercial-grade pollen is effectively applied to large grove with particular blowers . If inhaled the pollen could cause respiratory sensitized response .
