Czar: smaak en teelt
Donkerpaars, compacte boom; vooral koken.
By Redactie MoestuinApp · updated
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SeedStepsYour vegetable garden, one step at a time.My gardenDonkerpaars, compacte boom; vooral koken.
By Redactie MoestuinApp · updated
Dessert plums become sweeter on the tree; cooking types give compote more tang.
This description applies to the species; a separate taste test of this cultivar has not been confirmed.
Plums offer a whole journey of flavours: an early dessert plum, a sweet greengage and a late fruit for compote. If you have room for one tree, let use and pollination decide together. Think too about reaching heavily laden branches.
Sunny and sheltered, with fertile, moisture-retentive soil; thinning prevents overloaded branches.
The named cultivars are self-fertile except Cambridge Gage, which is partially self-fertile; additional compatible pollination can help.
Pixy or VVA-1 are more compact; St Julian A is more vigorous.
Open crown on a dwarf tree: Form an open centre with outward-facing framework branches. Prune young trees in spring and established trees in summer, on dry days. Remove crossing, weak and upright competing shoots. Thin overcrowded branches before the weight of fruit can break them.
Gently bending strong branches: choose only young, flexible branches, not old, stiff wood. In summer, gradually pull a branch towards horizontal. Tie its tip to a post or the trunk with soft material; avoid rubbing. Remove the tie when the branch holds its position independently; check for constriction in the meantime.
On dry days during the growing season; avoid winter pruning because of silver leaf and bacterial canker.
Colour alone is insufficient: the fruit needs to soften and come away easily.
Allow space for the mature tree, not just the plant currently in the pot. The cultivar determines part of your fruit choice; the rootstock and tree form also help determine how much space the tree needs. Draw the crown, harvesting reach and support on your garden plan. Before buying, check whether a suitable pollinating partner is needed and whether one actually flowers nearby.
Where necessary, support a young tree with a suitable stake and a wide, soft tie. Do not let the tie rub or constrict the tree, and check it as the trunk and crown grow. Water must reach the root zone; a small wet patch on the surface does not tell you whether the rootball has enough moisture. Take care when planting and follow the species instructions for the correct planting depth.
Keep samples of the different cultivars separate. Record picking ripeness, eating ripeness, texture and the preparation you used. Fruit that tastes pleasant straight from the tree may behave differently in a pie or during storage. For perennial plants, your own flowering and harvest observations are more useful than a fixed countdown from the planting date.
Checked on 2026-10-12. This guide was originally written using the listed sources. Growing advice from other countries is not a local weather forecast.