How to plant and care for Plum (Opal)

Prunus domestica

🌳 Tree 🍓 Fruit 🔁 Perennial

A reliable early plum with sweet, reddish-purple fruit in late July. Self-fertile and a good alternative to Victoria.

At a glance: harvest in July.

When to plant and care for it

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Harvest

Prune

Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.

On planting day
Plant the Tree
Plant at the same depth it grew in its pot, in a hole twice as wide as the root ball, 3–4 m (Pixy or St Julien A rootstock) from other trees. Firm and water well.
0–1 days after “Plant the Tree”
Stake and Tie
Drive a short stake in on the windward side and fix it with a soft tree tie. Loosen the tie each spring so it never cuts into the bark.
0–2 days after “Stake and Tie”
Water In Deeply
Soak the root area with a full can, then keep the soil moist (not wet) for the first few weeks.
7–21 days after “Water In Deeply”
Mulch the Base
Spread 5–8 cm of compost or bark mulch in a 1 m circle, keeping it clear of the trunk.

March
Spring Feed and Mulch
Scatter a general fruit feed and mulch the root area.
June
Thin the Fruit
Thin heavy crops to one plum every 5–8 cm so branches do not snap.
Starts from year 2.
July
Pick Plums
Pick when the plums come away easily and are slightly soft.
Starts from year 2.
August
Summer Pruning
Prune after picking, never in winter (silver leaf): remove dead, crossing and crowded branches.