When to plant Plums
Calendar windows
Dates shift with your latitude โ they are calculated from your local last-spring-frost date, not from a fixed calendar.
At a glance
Takes frost; can go out weeks before the last one.
Practical notes
Never prune plums in winter โ open wounds in cold, wet weather invite silver leaf and bacterial canker. Prune only in growth, from June to August. Thin heavy crops or the branches break.
Knowing when to pick
Ripe plums come away with the stalk at the lightest touch and show a dusty bloom. Pick over the tree every couple of days โ they do not ripen together.
Storing the crop
Only a few days fresh. Stone and freeze, or turn into jam โ plums are one of the easiest fruits to preserve.
Crop rotation
Permanent planting: never replant a rose-family plant straight into its own old site.
Grows well with
Keep apart from
Watch for
Full guide: plums diseases and pests (5) โ with spread routes, compost verdicts and the prevention this list justifies.