I love Italian prunes. My wife eats them slightly underripe, I love them fully ripe, and I love jam and preserves made from them. But that's us.

:-)M

Italian prunes are wonderful, but I love Shiro plums, they are a japanese yellow plum. Delicious.

OK, why pick just one. Plant a multi-graft. I've got a "fruit cocktail tree" from Raintree. It was originally a 5 in 1, but the nectarine graft died the 2nd year. It now has prune plums, Japanese plums, peaches, and apricots. A fun novelty, and I've gotten several bushels of fruit off it in the best of years.

Raintree has a 4 in 1 European Plum

Here is a link that might be useful: Raintree European Plums

I wrote a long response to this that somehow didn't go up. I also recommended checking the selection at Raintree as they specialize in varieties that do well in the northwest coast.

You don't get enough heat there to really sweeten up the Japanese types from what I've seen at my sisters orchard near the beach close to the CA-Oregon border.

Victoria, as grown here in southeastern NY, is fairly nondescript flavor-wise- beautiful color and a reliable cropper but not rich flavored.

Italian, I feel has been surpassed by other introductions in the realm of prune plums. It doesn't tend to be a great producer and although when tree ripened it's very good so are a lot of other more productive plums. Here I like Valor, Castelton and Autumn Sweet.

There you could probably get great results from some of the gages which are just wonderful but tend to crack in the rain here.

Maybe Raintree has a good multi-variety tree.

I've been reading about different varieties that do well in the Seattle area and one that has popped out at me is called Spencer Hollywood - which apparently is different than just Hollywood - which is confusing :)

So now I'm even more confused than when I started looking. I don't think I'll get a multi-variety. I prefer the traditional look.

I wasn't originally looking at a Japanese Plums but they sound really easy to care for. Oh choices.

But can J plums get sugar in your maritime climate? Better have more heat units than Eureka CA or your plums will be bland. Did you ever look up the Raintree varieties because they list ones that do well there.

Oh yes, I've been on raintree's website for a while now. They have 6 varieties of Japanese plums in their catalog and even more on their website - though the descriptions whittle some of them out of the list for the pacific northwest. Hollywood is on the list - but you may be right. Thriving and tasting delicious may be two different things.

It's not clear whether the "Hollywood" that Raintree sells is "Spencer Hollywood", which is supposed to be a small tree originating near the coast in the Northwest. How big are you planning to let your tree get? If that's the one I wanted (maybe for the front yard) I would get it from a supplier that identified it as "Spencer Hollywood").

To make your choices even harder, One Green World sells a red-leafed plum they identify as a European plum, originating near the coast at the Nichols Garden Nursery, which I assume is the one in Albany, Oregon.

When people mention a "multi" tree here, they're not referring to a tree with peaches, plums, etc. on the same tree. They're referring to a tree with several varieties of either Japanese or European plums. They can be quite traditional-looking most of the year.

Japanese plums have much more rampant growth than European plums and may bear earlier. If I were in Seattle in a neighborhood with plums, I would check with my neighbors concerning what kinds of plum trees they have and which ones they like. The either plant one recommended by neighbors or one which bears at a different time and share with neighbors.

Japanese and European plums usually do not bloom at the same time and are not typically suitable for cross-pollination. I don't think you can trust information which says that either European or Japanese plums are carefree to grow.

Also, you may wish to check Raintree's variety list closer to the bareroot season.

I called up Raintree and asked if their Hollywood was the same as Spencer Hollywood and they said they were not the same. Their tree is not the Spencer Hollywood. I have found a place nearby that says they sell Spencer Hollywood if I end up with that variety.

Size wise we're looking for a tree that settles in at a mature size of 8-12 feet. With the multi-tree, I know it's for multiple varieties of plums. I was just envisioning a single variety. I've seen some multi's that just looked odd to me. Maybe I was looking at some poor examples. If I did end up going with a J variety, I guess I'd probably be forced into a multi tree to guarantee proper pollination.

My neighbors tree is a European variety. It may even be an italian plum. I'll post pics below in case that helps. I don't know what the other neighbors have. I'd have to go knocking on a bunch of stranger's doors :)

I failed at uploading the pics, so here are the url's

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-tHQ0px7fEzU/TnejQmemMVI/AAAAAAAABjg/1kTBVMseMmw/DSC_0004.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l-uzFAk7O_g/TnejQryRUxI/AAAAAAAABjc/5kORiJaayuM/DSC_0002.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lKaFlaCj9DI/TnejQ0chqOI/AAAAAAAABjk/ku7SJwu7pZ8/DSC_0010.jpg

Depending partly on the rootstock, most European plums should be quite easy to maintain at 8 to 12 feet if you summer prune. I am a fan of keeping most fruit trees short enough that I can care for them from the ground, or with a step-stool at most.

Nice-looking plums in your photos. Looks like you might have a little over-hang into your yard from your neighbor's tree. If you get some fruit this way, you might consider something that ripens at a different time. You might also consider whether the variety you choose is suitable for home drying (different from commercial drying), or if it is recommended for cooking or canning. You could get more fruit than you can use fresh.

Depending on how the grafts were made and the vigor of the varieties, multi-grafted varieties can look lopsided. Sometimes you can prune to correct for this. Depends partly on your priorities - beauty or variety. A single-variety tree is easier to care for, and you can get a low-branching tree by cutting off the top of a young tree (always above the root graft) when it is fully dormant.

One other thing you might consider is trying out some of the later-ripening varieties at a farmer's market to see what you like.

Below, the Nichols red-leafed plum. Shaped like a European plum, but I've never seen a red-fleshed European plum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nichols plum

I wouldn't wait to check raintree's list- varieties may be already sold out for either fall or spring shipping (don't know if RT ships in fall- trees of antiquity does). They will not have more varieties closer to BR shipping season- they probably already have an inventory for the coming season or at least a close enough estimate to have been taken orders for available varieties for some time. I ordered all my spring shipped trees months ago from another nursery.

I've never heard of compatible pollination between J and E plums and I think it may be more than the fact that they bloom over a week apart with J's earlier.

Isn't the Hollywood plum more known for looks than flavor? Seems like it would be a waste to start with anything but a luscious and delicious plum.

If I was you I'd start another post asking for plum recommendations in Seattle as your climate is quite unusual. Isn't it mostly cloudy with mist and very light rain during the growing season?

It is more of a Maritime climate. Cooler than most other areas. Hollywood is known more for its beauty over flavor, but I had read the Spencer Hollywood has better flavor. But either way, that brings us back to J plums and I am not confident I'd have a pollinator for it. I know I'm good to go in the E plum dept so I'll probably drop the J plums off my list and stick with what I know will do well.

My sister has a Satsuma within a walk of the beach an hour north of Eureka CA and the fruit is not nearly as sweet as what I get in southeastern NY.

Some plums are reliably self fruitful- especially some Europeans such as Castleton, which supposedly bears just fine by itself.

I think Hollywood is supposed to taste quite good, but I'm sure climate has a big effect on flavor. If I remember correctly, Sunset's climate recommendations for Hollywood were unusually broad, but I don't think I would plant it in Seattle if I had other choices. The Spencer Hollywood came from the Northwest and might make a good ornamental edible. Sounds intriguing to me, but if I planted it, it would probably be more as a small ornamental tree with fruit than for strictly culinary reasons. I think European plums are probably the best choice for Seattle. There are still enough choices among the Europeans.

I was up late last night reading up on various plums off of raintree and onegreenworld. At this moment in time I am leaning towards the red plum, Nichols. Maybe it is fate that the name is so similar to mine. it sounds beautiful and since it has its home in the northwest, I'm hopeful it can do well in my yard. I can't find a whole lot of info on this plum but what little I've been able to read up on it makes it sound like a worth while gamble.

I've had a Hollywood for 4 years from One Green World. The plums this year were positively delightful. Very tasty and high quality. There weren't many this year as I failed to thin appropriately last year. I don't recall the fruit being this good in years past. Perhaps more severe thinning is in order. I consider it a definite keeper since it reliably produces tasty plums and has no disease problems. Both Japanese and Euro plums will have canker here.
Just last weekend, after 8 years, I chainsawed a Satsuma, Elephant Heart and Santa Rosa. Reasons were shy or no production, poor fruit quality, too early blooming, brown rot in the spring, too vigorous and a pruning headache. Along with those I also took down a Seneca which was an extremely vigorous tree with fantastic quality fruit. But it would only produce a few measly plums every year.
So now I'm also looking for a new euro plum or two to try.