900 



THE GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



NOVEMBEB 23, 1912. 



A PLEA FOR PLUMS IN POTS. 



say that tJiese trees had gat at all out of 

 bounds as resrards either the size of the 



A considerable amount of attention has individual tree or of the pot in which it 



been given to the culture of peaches, nec- 

 tarines^ and cherries in pots during the past 

 decade, but plums in pots have not had the 

 same amount of attention bestowed upon 

 them. Yet the plum fully deserves to be 

 grown in pots equally as much as either 



was grown. 



A dish of well-ripened plums during May 

 and June is most useful, and indeed valu- 

 able, for the dessert. These aiford a variety 



in fruits when as yet thei-e are not any too 

 great a selection from which to choose. 



of flavour the pot-grown fruit of the nlum 

 cannot be beaten. ^ 



When not force<1, but allowed to come 

 on quite of their own accord, the results ar 

 equally satisfactory. Then one will see aiT 

 other advantage, also, viz. : in the control 

 of the trees durinp- wet or 



A 



PLl M EARLY PROLIFIC. 



.en-fruited speci^^ of this excellent ear^v plum, exhibited by Messrs T p- 

 and Son, Sawbridgeworth, at the Royal Intcnuvtional Horticultural EXbiLn ^^^^^ 



of the.st' trio, 

 some fifti^eu st«aMjn.s 



tll< lil I10v\ 



lor 



rij)r 



. . , ;iv Ui 



h-uits early in Ahiy, and the sann 

 that I comnion<ed with in 189S nro >ti 

 uoing well in !»earlv every iir>t niee 



S<>nu> of these tVees iornie.l part of the 

 truit t^xhibit set up at the " " " 

 national Shfjw in Mav la-.t 



l^oval Intor- 



N<> one could 



■Ilu^ plum, when forced, is amenable to the 

 sanu^ eourse of treatment a^ the peach 



'*nder pot culture, ft planted 

 't is just possible that the.nnvt . won 

 IH- t.ov^.orous, therefore I. tnu^olvrV.^^^^ 

 menu that none but pot plums V. o ."d" 

 Jlv growing them in pots <;ne has thm-oueh 

 control over the roots, and fron. tl 3 



trees durnig wet or drizzling 

 weather. Last autumn^ as a case in point 

 I heard of several complaints of the phm 

 crop being spoiled hy the wet time that 

 was experienced. Wasps, again, are great 

 depredators upon the ripe fruit outside, but 

 wlien under glass these pests give hut little 

 trouble. It is also possible to keep up a 

 better succession of ripe fruits, without 

 having at any time a superfluity, a,s more 

 good kinds can he grown in the same spa^e 

 at command, and at the same time afford a 

 greater variety. The finish imparted to 

 pot-grown fruits can rarely be equalled 

 and never surpassed out of doors. 



Forcing". 



upon this point record my own 



We start our earliest trees 



ITiese 



I will 



experience. 



during the first week in December, 

 will yield ripe fruit from the beginning 

 of May onwards through the month. The 

 earliest to ripen is Early Prolific (syn. Early 

 Rivers) ; then we have Blue Rock (forced 

 this year for the first time) ; and then Early 

 Transparent— the '^creme de la creme " of 



This latter variety will 



ea 



a 



be found to yield ripe fruits for fully 

 fortnight from the same tree, and if so be 

 a few fruits do not at the end fully mature 

 they will be useful for fruit compotes. Jef- 

 ferson^ if started at the same time, will 

 follow the Early Transparent Gage. This 

 will carry the supply well on to^ the middle 

 of June, and, if a further supply be needed, 

 it should be through a second batch of trees 

 started early in January. 



Further away in the country a week or 

 ten days later in starting will give the same 

 results as with us under the murky skies 

 of the London locality. We find no diffi- 

 culty whatever in securing a crop, 

 rule we have to thin severely, for it is a 

 great mistake to attempt to carry too heavy 

 a c7-op. Whe i this is the case, many fruits 

 will he spoiled and he only fit for cooking 

 purposes. Plenty of blossom is invariably the 



As a 



rule, as no bud-dropping obtains 



when 



forced 



some peaches and nectarines 

 parly. Wo usiially arrange our plums upon 

 the north side of a span-roofed house that 

 points east and west, and as near to the 

 path as possible for convenience in the con- 

 stant attention to pinching the shoots, 



also for a sharT> watch to 'be kept 



and also for a sharp 

 against Insect pests. 



We do not disbud, but prefer to pinch 

 freely,^ and thus aim at producing fruiting 

 ■■^purs in due course for another -season. 



Trees not Forced. 



Our object with these, in our own par- 

 ticular case^ is to letard them as much as 

 possible^ as ripe fruit during August is not 

 greatly in request. These trees, in our 

 case, set their fruits in an absolutely eooi 

 house where they stjnd until room can te 

 found later on foi- them in other houses. 

 Our intention is to secure ripe frmt 

 throughout September, and as far into Oc- 

 tober as possible. Greater variety can be 

 had when no forcing is attempted. 

 Oullin^s Golden Ga ge is one of the first to 

 ripen under tlieso conditions ; Denniston's 

 Suporb will follow this, and then Early 

 I nin-pniont Gnsre will be ripening;, and this 

 iiU'tin wil! be followed bv Kirke's and Jef" 

 <<'rsni,. After that iho Golden Transparent 

 will be ,.ip<.n[„,_. . jj, in my 



ooinion, tlie very finest of all plnms, from 

 the ponit of flavour, of appearanee, and ot 

 productiveness when under pot culture. 



