Golden Japan Plum Tree – AB

Description

Golden Japan Plum Tree

Golden Japan Plum, also known as Shiro, is an exceptional Japanese variety that is revolutionizing plum season. This ultra-early variety offers the unique advantage of producing fruit as early as mid-July, making it one of the very first plums of the year.

Originally from Japan and descended from the Prunus salicina lineage, this ancient variety has adapted perfectly to temperate European climates. It combines exceptional vigour, remarkable productivity and superior taste quality, making it a reference choice for home gardens and professional orchards.

Characteristics of the Golden Japan Plum Tree

🍑 Exceptional fruits: Golden Japan plums are remarkable for their large size of 5 to 6 cm in diameter, weighing between 40 and 60 grams. Their characteristic heart-shaped shape and bright yellow to golden colour make them particularly attractive.

🍯 Superior taste qualities: The bright yellow flesh is extremely juicy, chewy and sweet, with a mild flavor accompanied by a slight acidity that brings a perfect balance. This melting texture and delicate taste make it a plum of excellent taste quality.

🌳 Vigorous tree: The Golden Japan plum tree has a spreading and airy habit, reaching 6 to 7 meters in height and 5 to 6 meters in width when ripe. Its rapid growth and early fruiting make it a quick investment that pays off.

Flowering and pollination

The early to semi-late bloom in March covers the entire tree with beautiful white flowers, creating a remarkable ornamental spectacle. This delicate spring bloom attracts a multitude of pollinators and contributes to the biodiversity of the garden.

The Golden Japan Plum tree is weakly self-fertile, which means that it can produce on its own but its yield is significantly improved by cross-pollination. To optimize production, it is recommended to combine it with compatible varieties such as the Reine-Claude de Bavay, the Stanley Plum tree, or the Sainte-Catherine.

Exceptional precocity

The main asset of the Golden Japan Plum tree lies in its remarkable precocity. With a harvest from mid-July, it allows you to taste fresh plums well before other traditional varieties. This characteristic makes it a strategic strain for:

• Anticipating the plum season
• Staggering harvests in an orchard
• Satisfying the craving for early summer fruit
• Gain a business advantage for growers

Productivity and Efficiency

This variety is distinguished by its exceptional productivity and rapid fruiting. An adult tree can produce up to 50 kg of plums per year under optimal conditions, with a steady yield and excellent production consistency.

Its high fertility and its ability to produce abundantly from the first years after planting make it an economically interesting choice for all types of orchards.

Cultivation and maintenance

🌱 Planting: The Golden Japan Plum tree adapts to different types of soil, whether humus, sandy, clay or loamy. It prefers ordinary to rich, cool to medium-dry, well-drained, no stagnant moisture, neutral to calcareous soil.

🌿 Exhibition: It requires a sunny exposure to fully develop its taste qualities and productivity. It also tolerates partial shade but with reduced production.

🌡️ Hardiness: Excellent resistance to cold down to -15°C to -20°C, allowing it to adapt to moderate winters and withstand late frosts.

💧 Watering: Moderate watering during the growing season. Once established, it is resistant to drought but appreciates cool soil for optimal production.

Size Care

The Golden Japan Plum tree requires little pruning, which makes it easier to maintain:

• Minimum Size: Limit the size as much as possible because flowering occurs on the previous year’s wood
• Maintenance Size: Every 3 to 4 years in winter, removal of dead and superfluous branches
• Training Size: At the end of winter to structure the tree and promote fruiting

🌿 Fertilization: Bring compost or manure in the spring to improve production. Avoid fertilizers that are too rich in nitrogen, which favor foliage to the detriment of fruit.

Disease resistance

The Golden Japan Plum tree has good overall resistance to diseases. It is particularly resistant to monilia, a common disease in plum trees. However, it may be susceptible to bacterial canker and requires proper monitoring.

This natural resistance facilitates its cultivation and reduces the phytosanitary interventions required.

Culinary Uses

Golden Japan plums offer remarkable culinary versatility :

• Fresh consumption: Ideal for tasting raw, fully revealing their flavour and texture
• Pastry: Perfect for pies, clafoutis, crumbles and cakes
• Canned goods: Jams, compotes and jellies retain their delicate taste
• Drinks: Refreshing and fragrant juices
• Traditional Use: Can be harvested green to flavor fruit alcohols (common use in Asia)

Benefits for the gardener

The Golden Japan Plum Tree has many advantages:

• Precocity: First plum of the year, harvested in mid-July
• Ease of cultivation: Robust and undemanding tree
• Productivity: High and consistent performance
• Taste quality: Juicy, sweet and fragrant flesh
• Ornamental aspect: Decorative flowering in spring
• Adaptation: Suitable for home gardens and orchards

Planting Tips

To optimize the cultivation of Golden Japan Plum Tree:

• Plant at a distance of 4 meters between trees
• Pair with compatible pollinators to improve yield
• Choose a myrobolan rootstock for optimal adaptation
• Ensure good orchard aeration
• Plan for staking the first few years if necessary

Golden Japan Plum is an excellent choice for all gardeners who want to enjoy early, juicy and tasty plums, with the satisfaction of a generous harvest from the beginning of summer.

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