About
A partially self-fertile to self-fertile mirabelle cultivar. The white spring blossom is followed by attractive, small, round, speckled, golden yellow fruit and freestone (where the flesh of the fruit is not attached to the pit). Very good for culinary purposes, though the rich sweet flesh is pleasant to eat fresh. Cold hardy, but the blossom can be prone to spring cold damage. Slow to come to cropping. Cropping season: mid-August. It will cross pollinate with other mirabelle cultivars, plums and damsons.
About the genus
Prunus can be deciduous or evergreen trees or shrubs with showy flowers in spring, and often good autumn foliage colour. Some have edible fruit in autumn, and a few species have ornamental bark
Growing conditions
SunlightFull sun
Soil typeClay, Loam, Sand
Soil pHAcid, Neutral
Soil moistureMoist but well-drained, Well-drained
AspectSouth-facing, West-facing
ExposureSheltered
UK hardinessH5
Plant details
Plant typeFruit Edible
HabitBushy
FoliageDeciduous
Height2.5-4 metres
Spread2.5-4 metres
Time to full height5-10 years
Suggested usesCottage and informal garden, Wildlife gardens
Care notes
CultivationTolerant of a range of soils as long as well drained, but prefers loamy, ideally slightly acidic soils pH of 6 to 6.5. Plant in a sunny, sheltered site. Flowers may be susceptible to spring frosts damage. See How to grow: Plums for further cultivation details
PruningPrune mirabelle trees as for plums - pruning plums
PropagationPropagate by chip budding or grafting onto a rootstock for fruit. The rootstock will largely determine the vigour of the tree. Seed raised trees are of variable fruit quality and tree size
Pest resistanceMay be susceptible to plum aphid, red spider mite and winter moth caterpillar. The fruit can be damaged by plum moth caterpillars, wasps and birds
Disease resistanceMay be susceptible to peach leaf curl, silver leaf, bacterial canker, blossom wilt and honey fungus