Japanese varieties are large, round, and juicy. They can be purplish-red with orange flesh or orangey-yellow with yellow flesh. Dessert plums are usually larger than cooking plums, and can be up to four inches in length. They are sweet and very juicy. Cooking plums are drier with a tart flesh, making them ideal for pies or jam.
Japanese Yellow Plums
Donsworth Fruits early to mid season
Dark maroon plum, thin skin with obvious green mottling. Good sweet flavour, cling stone. Light-ish red skin with clear to pink juice.
Narabeen Fruits mid to late season
Large, slightly flat fruit with light red-yellow skin. Flesh is pale yellow, freestone. Flavour is very good. Sweet and juicy
Santa Rosa Fruits early to mid season
Selected by Luther Burbank, in Santa Rosa, California. The Santa Rosa plum tree produces plums that are large, conical, juicy, flavorful, purplish crimson with a pale bloom. Tree is vigorous and upright. Fruit tends to drop near harvest in high winds so think excessive crops.
Wickson Fruits early to mid season
produces large greenish-yellow heart-shaped fruit with a small stone, so there is more flesh per fruit than other Japanese plums. Self-fertile, but will crop better in the company of Santa Rosa or Satsuma.
Japanese Blood Plums
Elephant Heart Fruits early to mid season
The Elephant Heart plum is known for it’s large, heart-shaped fruit with a thick, bronze-green skin that turns reddish purple when completely ripe. It’s juicy, blood-red flesh has a rich and distinctive flavour that is good for fresh eating, canning and freezing.
Mariposa Fruits mid season
A plum with dark red flesh and large fruit if thinned. The flavour is excellent, the skin glossy red and it has a egg shaped fruit. Will crop over a wide range of climates.
Ruby Blood Fruits very late season
A medium size plum with red mottles.Very Firm. Stores and carries well.
Satsuma Fruits mid season
Red to purple flesh with a freestone. The flavour is good, the growth vigorous and its bears particularly well, in fact to get large fruits it may require thinning. The firm juicy flesh has a sweet spicy flavour.
Self pollinating. 350 – 400 hours chill.