Scott,

My vote would be that it is a nice seedling. Did the original tree throw up suckers from the ground that have fruited? If you observed some of them (suckers) grafted at your location you might be able to verify the seedling hypothesis.

Plumfan, the original tree had no suckers on it. I would not be surprised if it was a seedling, but the fact that it was right by where there were apple trees makes me think it was an intentional planting. Some "weed" trees have completely engulfed it now. So, I'm pretty sure it was intentional, but it could well have been an intentional seedling.

One thing that came to my mind after I posted was the plumcot that Burbank named "Burbank" (different from the so-named plum). It has the same fruit shape and color. I have the Burbank book at home and will look it up to see how the leaves compare.

Scott

Those leaves in your pic are approximately the same, granted there are smallish differences.

Are you thinking there is a small chance that you have some sort of plum-cot on your hands? There would be that chance you know, if there were an apricot in the area!

If you found it near some large apple trees, it could be that the person was sampling plums prior, spit the seed out right where it grew, then proceded to look/harvest apples. Who knows?

Ahh, August is plum month here. I am in hog heaven with plums. One I recently ate, having never grown it to fruition before is called Homeside. Wow, nice plum. Not like any others I have.

Here is a link that might be useful: Homeside

I looked through my Burbank book (Burbank his methods and discoveries vol V) and it doesn't look exactly like any of the particular varieties there but the leaves look similar to several of the plumcots. So I am starting to think there is a chance it is a plumcot. One other thing making me think it may be a plumcot is how long it takes to ripen. I have been sampling them for the last three weeks since they turned yellow that long ago, but only now are they ripe. That is what I experienced on my apricots.

Who knows what it is. The mysterious plum-thing!

Scott

Scott,

I just went out and plucked an apricot leaf. It is pretty fat. Your suspect leaf has some elongation to it compared to the other leaf and my apricot, which does not prove much. I have even seen 'sports' growing on apricot trees that are nearly peach-leaf in morphology, so that doesn't prove much either. I have some plums with quite narrow morphology, and they are nearly all salicina.

Is there ANY fuzz at all on the fruits? That would be an apricot lineage indicator. Is the seed flattish like a plum or fattish like an apricot? From the pic it looks apricotty a little.

And you say it tastes apricotty? Nice!

Well it look delicious, especially with the extra oranginess.

Plumfan, when I looked through the Burbank book I was surprised at how many of the plumcot leaves were shaped like my plum-thing leaves. Maybe it was because of the type of plum he was crossing the apricots with.

There is no fuzz on the fruits, but the seeds are pretty fat. Also the freestone trait is not common on the non-European plums.

Murky, the taste is very good, more in the "refreshing" category than the "rich" category. I may not have been letting them ripen long enough, I was eating them way too early since they turned yellow the same time as my Shiros. I ate the last one a few days ago and I still had to yank it off pretty hard so maybe it still wanted to ripen some more.

I've decided I should give it a name for now - "Plum Thing"!

Scott

Scott,

In my opinion the fat, nearly freestone seed is a pretty big giveaway that there is likely other-than-salicina in your suspect plum!

Can you guess if it has any Shiro in it? Shiro is not a pure breed you know. It is already a complex hybrid, being [(Prunus simonii x Prunus salicina) x Prunus cerasifera] x Prunus munsoniana

Can you guess as to what likely pollinated the suspect plum this year?

Do you have room to plant all its seeds out? Think roadsides and fencelines that do not get sprayed.

Does it self pollinate? Seeds resulting from such would be VERY interesting to grow out. I would do it myself if you lacked the room.

Plumfan, I did get curious about the seeds, it is grafted to a tree with a plumcot on it so that would make an interesting cross indeed! I got the idea as I was eating the last plum so I have exacty one seed stratifying now. Maybe I will save more seeds next year. I have no idea if it is self-pollinating or not. I also have no idea what could be in it; the fact that it is getting a red blush on most fruits is making me think it may be a red plum in there somewere. One other thing that appealed to me about growing out seeds is it may help me figure out what it is exactly.

Scott

Scott and Plumfan,

It was fascinating to "eavesdrop" on the discussion of two knowledgeable guys regarding various ways to try to ID an unknown variety. I'm now fully caught up in "The Mystery of The Plum Thing."

It would be great to know the outcome.

Tony

Could this be the hybrid plum variety "La Crescent"? This is a University of Minnesota developed variety as I recall. It is described as a small round yellow plum with an apricot-like flavor. I think it has Shiro somewhere in its lineage. I have one planted that I grafted a few years ago. It has not fruited yet, but is a very vigorous grower. Just a thought. - Steve

Steve, thanks for the tip. That plum is from 1923 which is old enough to qualify as a possibility. Everything in the description fits perfectly: slight blush at times, taste of apricots, freestone, small to medium. I couldn't find any good pictures on-line. Do your leaves look like the one on the right above?

Scott

Steve,

Yep, it's 50% Shiro by weight, contents may settle during shipping!

La Crescent = Shiro x Prunus americana "Howard Yellow"

Scott - Yes, the leaves on my tree look just like the one pictured. More pointed than a European plum but broader than a hybrid like "Superior". - Steve

Make that "Asian" plum. Of course, Shiro is not European. Too early in the morning! - Steve

Thanks, Steve. I feel about 90% confident that is my plum!

Scott