Written and edited by Tammy 24th January 2023
Have you ever experienced the sheer bliss of eating a Plumcot?
Sunday afternoon I popped out to my girlfriends' place for a coffee, she has the most beautiful gardens and a 'to die for' fruit orchard that's the envy of all.
Standing out to the side in a section of ornamentals stood what I thought was any other Prunus ornamental plum.....but it wasn't.
It was a Plumcot, a Plum x Apricot called Plumscrumptious and oh my goodness they taste divine!
'Plumscrumptious' is a product of Flemings Nurseries.
They are an interspecific variety, meaning they are the end result of two different species of fruit trees being pollinated by hand, now that's kind of cool!
This particular tree in my girlfriend's yard is about 6 years old and stands around 3 meters tall. Like most fruit trees there's no real advantage of letting them get any taller than that, as you can't reach the fruit anyway without messing around climbing up on ladders. You're just creating a feast for the birds.
As you can see by the one in my hand that I promptly made short work of, they have a lovely deep rich cherry red coloured skin and similar coloured flesh. The flavour is something really quite special, it honestly has characteristics of both an apricot and a plum.
Now unless you can be certain that there are plum trees close by in your neighbour's yard, you are going to need a companion tree for it as a pollinator. Flemmings recommend a Mariposa.
Fruit trees are always best sourced and planted in the Winter months, which is known as 'Bare root season' when they are dormant (asleep). Most fruit trees with the exception of Citrus are deciduous. If you're thinking you'd love to own one of these wonderful little trees, it's a good idea to go into your nearest stockist and pop your name down on a waiting list for one now. Often these newer varieties of trees are in hot demand, so it avoids the disappointment of missing out.
**Keep an eye on my posts or better yet subscribe to my website to be kept up to date as I'll go into a bit more detail about bare root season in the coming months as it gets closer.
In conclusion, I think if you're planning an addition to your collection of fruit trees you most definitely will not be disappointed with one of these.
Go and put your name down for a Plumcot today.
Happy Gardening! 🪴🍑
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