marvellous variety exists among tree normally touch on to as plum tree – from those that produce nicely sized fruits to those that are best admired as ornamental trees with prolific spring flowering showing or handsomely emblazon foliage . All plum species call for some exposure to winter cold to dependably bring on flowers the stick with spring , a process called vernalization . Plums necessitate louse pollinator like honeybees to help full fruit set .
Fruit-Producing Types
by and large three types of plum tree trees are grow for their tasty fruits : European plum ( Prunus domestica ) , Japanese plum tree ( Prunus salicina ) and legion native American plum mintage . Plums hybridize with each other rather well , allowing plantsman to cross mintage to develop plum trees with more cold hardiness , advantageously sized or savor fruits or more springy to disease . Many native American plum are cross - bred with Japanese plums to meliorate their ability to withstand viciously stale winters in regions such as the American Upper Midwest or the prairie provinces of Canada , harmonize to the " Sunset National Garden Book . " In fact , there are more than 600 plum tree varieties descend from American plums , allot to " Economic Botany : plant life in Our World , " by Beryl Simpson and Molly Ogorzaly .
Flowering
plum tree tree diagram flowers resemble those of cherries , peaches and apricot , to which they are closely associate as member of the rosaceous family . Plum blossom are usually white , rarely pink and have five petals . inflorescence happen in early bounce before new leaves emerge . Japanese and American native plum species tend to bloom earlier in springiness than European plum . In neighborhood where untimely natural spring frosts pass off , European plums are favored by gardener , because their afterwards flower prevents flower kill from tardy moth-eaten weather .
Fruits
Plum fruits ' skin colors range from yellow and red to royal , green , blue and nearly black . The fruit ’s human body is usually flushed , chickenhearted or immature . Nipponese plum trees germinate the largest and juiciest fruits and are acidy but sugared . European plum tree trees ' fruits have truehearted flesh and are much dulcet ; prunes are made from European plums . American plums , in general equivalence , are smallest and have very washy flesh , making them best used in preserve or pastries , although some are nice when eaten fresh . decorative flowering plums ( such as Prunus cerasifera ) seldom develop fruit , or if they do , the fruits are very small and savor bad . They may be made into preserves , though .
Tree Structure
Japanese plum trees develop into small - sized , vase - shaped trees when compared with European plum tree trees . Nipponese type also bring forth more springtime flowers and subsequent fruits . The heavy production of fruits on Japanese plum tree trees call for remotion of immature fruits to a spatial arrangement of 4 to 6 in to prevent branch break later on in summertime . European plum tree trees do n’t localize closely the same amount of flower , and fruits grow on their more vertical and larger and taller branches .
American Orchards
plum tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree are grown in all country except Alaska , according to " Economic Botany : Plants in Our World . " Commercial Japanese plum tree orchard are widely found in California ’s Central Valley but are also grown in garden across the South and the West . European plum are grow more in the Northeast and north - central commonwealth , although California , Oregon , Idaho and Washington make up the greatest commercial European plum orchards . Michigan also rise many of these tree . California produces 95 to 98 percent of all plums in the United States , according to the University of Georgia .
References
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