Plums
Tree fruit varieties offered by Dave Wilson Nursery are selected for their firmness, good shipping characteristics and desirable flesh quality. Approximate ripening dates (for the Fresno, California area), chilling requirements and patent information are listed for each variety along with any special traits.
Angeleno
The heavily-planted Angeleno plum yields purple to black fruit with good size if thinned. The sweet, yellow flesh of this variety is meaty, but can be somewhat dry near the freestone pit. Angeleno is harvested the 1st week of September, and requires a mid-season-blooming pollenizer. This variety has an estimated chilling requirement of 400-450 hours.
Betty Anne
The large, brilliant red Betty Anne plum ripens in late August with a deep, sweet taste. The spreading Betty Anne tree is very productive, but may require a mid-season blooming pollenizer. This variety has an estimated chilling requirement of 750 to 850 hours. (U.S. Plant Patent #8471)
Blackamber
The Blackamber plum is a firm dark purple to black fruit that resembles the Friar plum. The Blackamber tree grows rapidly and bears a heavy crop in the 4th week of June. This heavily planted variety blooms mid-season and requires a pollenizer. Blackamber has an estimated chilling requirement of 400 hours.
Black Splendor
Exceptional color is the hallmark of the Black Splendor plum. With beet-red flesh and black skin, the Black Splendor is unforgettable. This fruit is larger and earlier than the industry standard, Santa Rosa. Harvested in the 1st to 2nd weeks of June, the Black Splendor fruit features a tart flavor. The moderately vigorous Black Splendor tree has a spreading growth habit. This extra-early bloomer requires a pollenizer. This variety has an estimated chilling requirement of 200 hours.
Catalina
In our own fruit tastings at Dave Wilson Nursery, the Catalina plum scores exceptionally high. Tasters love the sweet, juicy flavor of this black plum that stays firm when fully ripe. The medium-sized Catalina plum ripens from the last week of June to the 1st week of July. Although the spreading Catalina tree is partially self-fruitful, growers have noted better fruit set when planted with pollenizers such as Blackamber and Santa Rosa. This variety has an estimated chilling requirement of 300 to 400 hours.
Crimson Glo
The skin of the Crimson Glo plum is a dark, almost glowing purple while the flesh is light red, firm and juicy with good texture. This clingstone plum offers an excellent sweet flavor. The Crimson Glo matures in the first two weeks of July on a vigorous upright tree (to approximately 13 feet). Crimson Glo requires a pollenizer. This variety has an estimated chilling requirement of 750 hours. (U.S. Plant Patent #12856 )
Earliqueen
With an early harvest time and a classic plum flavor, Earliqueen is a popular commercial selection. The Earliqueen plum matures in the 4th week of May with good size (40 to 50) and attractive deep red skin color. This early-blooming variety requires a pollenizer. The Earliqueen tree is vigorous, spreading and dense with an estimated chilling requirement of 400 to 500 hours. (U.S. Plant Patent #8583)
Emerald Beaut
One of the highest-rated plums in blind fruit tastings at Dave Wilson Nursery, the Emerald Beat features a light green skin, and yellow to orange freestone flesh. This medium-sized plum begins to ripen in early August. Ripe fruit continues to sweeten, becoming exceptionally sweet, but remaining crisp and crunchy. Ripe fruit holds on the tree an incredible two months or more. The light colored skin of the Emerald Beaut makes it more susceptible to bruising than other plums. The very vigorous, upright Emerald Beaut tree requires a very late-blooming pollenizer and has an estimated chilling requirement of 600-700 hours. (U.S. Plant Patent #9162).
Fortune
A very popular California variety, Fortune is a large, bright red plum that ripens evenly in the last weeks of July. The Fortune plum features uniform shape, aromatic flavor and very good storage potential. The moderately vigorous Fortune tree grows upright to slightly spreading and requires pollenizer such as Friar. This variety has an estimated chilling requirement of 500 hours.
Friar
The prolonged harvest window of the Friar plum makes it an attractive choice for the commercial grower. This large, round plum has dark purple to black skin and mild amber flesh with a very small stone. Friar fruit begins to ripen in the 4th week of July. The mid-season blooming Friar is self-fruitful, but more productive when mixed with a small percentage of pollenizers such as Santa Rosa or Blackamber. The Friar tree growth is upright and economical. This plum has an estimated chilling requirement of 400 hours.
Hiromi Red
Ripening in mid-June, Hiromi Red is a large, firm plum with red over yellow skin color, excellent size, and flavor. The very vigorous Hiromi plum tree is upright to spreading with a mid to late bloom. Angeleno, Kelsey, Simka and Emerald Beaut are suggested as pollenizers with multiple pollenizers recommended. This plum has an estimated chilling requirement of 800 to 900 hours. (U.S. Plant Patent # 9858)
Joanna Red
Joanna Red is a very large plum with red over yellow skin color that ripens with Royal Diamond from the last week of July to the first week of August. The Joanna Red tree is vigorous, upright and productive. This plum variety requires a pollenizer such as Simka or Emerald Beaut. This plum has an estimated chilling requirement of 750 to 850 hours. (U.S. Plant Patent #10385)
Kelsey
The unique Kelsey plum is heart-shaped with greenish-yellow skin that blushes red as it ripens in the first two weeks of August. This large, aromatic plum offers a rich, sweet flavor that is low in acid. With firm bright yellow flesh, the Kelsey plum has a tiny pit that is freestone when ripe. The vigorous and heavy-bearing Kelsey tree produces firm fruit that keeps well. Kelsey requires a pollenizer such as Santa Rosa or Wickson. This plum has an estimated chilling requirement of 400 hours.
Laroda
Offering excellent sweet flavor, the juicy Laroda plum has received high overall scores in Dave Wilson Nursery tastings. Laroda is a dark purple plum similar to Santa Rosa, but larger and ripens about a month later. The long harvest of Laroda plums begins in mid-July, and extends to mid-August. The Laroda tree is vigorous and upright. This mid-season bloomer requires a pollenizer such as Santa Rosa or Catalina. This plum has an estimated chilling requirement of 400 hours.
Owen T
The Owen T plum has blue-black skin with purple highlights and sweet, light-yellow flesh. Harvested from late June through early July, the Owen T tree features average vigor with an upright growth habit. This mid-season bloomer requires a pollenizer such as Santa Rosa. Owen T has an estimated chilling requirement of 400 hours.
Red Beaut
One of our earliest varieties, the Red Beaut plum ripens in the 4th week of May providing good-quality fruit with a mild flavor. Red Beaut plums have smooth bright red skin that turns reddish-purple when fully ripe. The yellow flesh is fairly firm to slightly soft, and very juicy. The Red Beaut flavor is pleasantly sweet with slightly tart skin.
Royal Diamond
Royal Diamond is a medium-large dark red to black plum that is harvested from the last week of July to the first week of August. This vigorous, upright tree requires a late-blooming pollenizer. The Royal Diamond plum has an estimated chilling requirement of 500-600 hours.
Rubirosa
The early-ripening Rubirosa is a beautiful, dark red plum with meaty amber flesh. The Rubirosa plum ripens in the 1st week of June when the medium to large-sized fruit is very sweet and firm. This variety requires a pollenizer during the early to mid-season bloom. The Rubirosa tree is vigorous and upright to moderately spreading. This plum has an estimated chilling requirement of 300 hours. (U.S. Plant Patent #13506)
Santa Rosa
The industry standard, Santa Rosa is a purple-skinned plum with tangy blond flesh that provides the definitive “plum” flavor. The Santa Rosa fruit is harvested in the 2nd to 3rd weeks of June. A vigorous, spreading tree, Santa Rosa is self-fruitful, but often used as a pollenizer for other mid-season plums. This plum has an estimated chilling requirement of 300 hours.
Simka
The large heart-shaped Simka plum features purple skin over firm, golden flesh. This medium to large-sized plum ripens to a pleasantly sweet flavor in late July. With average vigor, the Simka tree grows in a spreading form. This self-fruitful variety blooms late and exhibits some tendency for pre-harvest drop. The Simka plum has an estimated chilling requirement of 500-600 hours.
Wickson
Developed by Luther Burbank, the Wickson plum is a medium to large, heart-shaped yellow fruit with moderately sweet, translucent flesh. There is little or no tartness in the skin or near the pit. The mid-season Wickson harvest begins three weeks after Santa Rosa in mid-July. This self-fruitful spreading tree blooms mid-season. Wickson has an estimated chilling requirement of 500 hours.
