Plum — how to choose a good variety and plant. Photo instruction for beginners, with useful tips from the pros

Plum is found on household plots everywhere. Unpretentious culture pleases gardeners with good harvests. Breeders have bred a large number of hybrids with excellent taste qualities. You can choose a suitable variety by looking at a photo of a plum and studying the characteristics of the options you like.

The fruit is used raw, for cooking various dishes and preservation. It contains many useful substances necessary for the full functioning of the human body. The low-calorie product promotes blood thinning, cholesterol excretion, and blood pressure reduction.

Summary of the article:

Modern types of cultures can be selected for any region. By planting several suitable varieties, you can grow your own plum garden. A huge number of species will allow each gardener to find a fruit to taste, and the correct selection of seedlings will ensure a generous harvest.

Description of varieties

Alyonushka has large reddish fruits of a round shape. The bone of this type is poorly separated. The tender and juicy flesh has a pleasant sweet and sour taste.

Stanley belongs to the group of Hungarian plums. It is distinguished by dark purple elongated fruits that can be dried. They get excellent prunes from them.

Golden large plum ripens in late autumn. It yields high yields, sweet and sour fruits are well stored. Mature trees are resistant to frost, drought, and various diseases.

The Kuban comet is very productive, has small oval-shaped fruits. Delicious and juicy plums can be tasted already in July, August. They ripen in parts, the bone does not separate from the pulp.

A perishable plum begins to bear fruit early. Requires planting nearby trees that will act as pollinators. Small fruits with a waxy coating on one plant can be yellow, orange and red. This variety has yellow, juicy flesh.

The blue gift has oval purple fruits, the aroma and sugar content of which are at an average level. The juicy flesh is distinguished by a yellow-green color. The tree is characterized by high frost resistance, self-fertile qualities, but the fruits are light in weight.

Top Hit is a late variety bred by German breeders. It has sweet, large egg-shaped fruits. They ripen in September, October. This species is popular, the bone is well separated from it. Winter-hardy plum is characterized by high transportability.

This crop grows great on different types of soil. It is classified as moisture-loving plants, but it does not tolerate shading by other trees, buildings.

Plum planting

In a region with a cool climate, the tree is planted in spring. The plot must be prepared in advance. In areas with mild winters, the plant can be planted in September so that it has time to take root before the onset of cold weather.

Novice gardeners do not always know where it is better to plant a plum. 1-2 trees of a different variety should grow nearby. This will ensure stable fruiting.

You need to know how to plant a plum correctly so that it pleases every year with a generous harvest. It is important to choose the right place for her.

The tree prefers sunny areas and does not like strong winds. It has a branched root system, which should not be washed by groundwater. You also need to consider what distance to leave between the seedlings.

Plum cultivation and care

When planting, fertilizers are applied to the soil. In the first years, the tree does not need fertilizing. Then every 2-3 years it is provided with fertilizers to achieve active growth. Top dressing is applied depending on the variety of the plant, the time of year. It is required not only to ensure a good harvest, but also to protect against pests, increase the resistance of the tree to various diseases.

The best time to apply fertilizer is late fall when the soil is dug up. Used mainly phosphorous, potassium compounds. With the onset of heat to fruit used of substances containing nitrogen.

In spring, there is a lot of moisture in the ground, so the tree does not need watering. The need for water is felt during the formation of fruits in the summer. It is necessary to water the plum with the growth of shoots, a week before harvest, in dry autumn. If there is not enough moisture, then the ovary may begin to fall off the tree.

Plum pruning is performed every year. The thinning procedure consists in removing excess branches, shortening shoots that grow upwards. Last year's gains are cut off so that new fruit branches appear.

The work is carried out with a special tool. The places of the slices are treated with soda water. The main and skeletal branches should be directed in different directions.

Autumn pruning is usually carried out in the southern regions, in the northern regions it is performed in the spring. In mid-September, dry and damaged branches are removed, the top is cut off if it has stretched out much. All cut shoots are burned to avoid further reproduction of pests.

Protection from diseases and pest control

Every owner of a private plot dreams of growing a healthy and fruitful garden. But we often have to deal with various diseases of culture. If you do not take measures in time, it can lead to crop loss and even the death of the tree. The most common diseases affecting plum:

Gradually, the spots increase, the leaves begin to curl and fall off.
Fruit rot affects fruits that have damage.
Curly hair leads to the curvature and twisting of the leaves, their falling off.
Plum pockets lead to strange fruit development. They stretch out, bones are not formed.
Sooty fungus leads to a black coating of leaves.

When the first signs of diseases appear, measures should be taken immediately. It is better to carry out preventive measures in a timely manner.

Plum pests

The fruitworm causes noticeable damage to the crop. Caterpillars of gray butterflies penetrate into the ovary and grow due to the pulp of the fruit.

Aphids suck the juice from the leaves and fruits.

Black sawyer. Its larvae damage the pulp of the fruit and the seed.

The leaf wrapper deforms the leaves, binding them into a ball.

Spraying and pest control must be carried out so that the garden remains healthy and bears fruit every year. Regular inspection of trees and the use of preventive measures will reduce the risk of infection. This will improve the yield of plums, the quality of fruits.