When I was younger, eating a tree-ripened plum in summer put me in heaven. There was a time in the late 1980's when I had wonderful crops of Elephant Heart, Golden Nectar and Mariposa plums. All incredibly good. Unfortunately, or fortunately for me, the late 1980's had unusually cool winter nights (less than 40 degrees F.) and I enjoyed that opportunity to grow some incredibly good fruit. Today I wouldn't recommend any of those cultivars.Pluots are special. Pluots are man-made hybrids (though not GMO) created in a lab that combines the genes of a plum (75%) with the genes of an apricot (25%). They first made a plumcot (50% plum, 50% apricot) and crossed
it with an apricot to create the pluot. The hybridizing work is done in the field with pollen, but the resulting seeds are not viable and the pluot embryos must be rescued and raised in a nutrient solution in a lab. Selected cultivars taste like plums but are significantly sweeter and have an extended hang time on the tree and shelf life.
Plums must be picked within a day or so of being ripe or the fruit falls. Many plums turn into "water balloons" when over ripe. Pluots hang for 2-4 weeks and remain firm. Unfortunately it appears that each pluot cultivar requires the presence of a pollen producing plum or some other pluot. Many of the pollination partners recommended for the Central Valley aren't successful locally. If you want to grow pluots it is best to grow a variety of plums and pluots together and hope something will work that year. Some of the experts believe that the flowering "purple-leaf" plums are good pollinators.
Fortunately and unfortunately we are, at best, a marginal area to grow plums and pluots. They need a cooler winter to be reliable. They generally have a minimum chill requirement (MCR) much higher than 300 hours (our average). There are few locations in Orange County, other than canyon bottoms, river beds and property above 2500', that will get good crops every year. Fortunately, we can have bountiful crops anywhere in Orange County some years.
In my own garden all of my plum and pluot trees are located on the north side of my garden. The extended shade of my house keeps that area cooler than the other exposures in winter, but still gets plenty of sunshine in summer to ripen the fruit.
Plums
Santa Rosa This is the best selling plum in California as well as Orange County and the fruit is quite excellent. It has purple skin and yellow flesh tinged red that is sweet and tart. Harvest late June. Unfortunately, I have only seen it produce well about 1 out of 5 years. The MCR for Santa Rosa is listed from 300 to 400 hours. I think it is 400 hours and will be most reliable along river beds and in canyons or other low spots.
Weeping Santa Rosa This is a taste test winner. The MCR is also 300-400 hours, but because the branches can weep to the ground, it may fruit decently every year. (On a still, winter night the air is much colder close to the ground.) If it doesn't fruit, don't blame me, I haven't had a chance to check its performance.
Satsuma This is the best producer in my garden and is overloaded every year. The MCR is 300 hours but I bet it's less. The dark red/green fruit has deep red flesh that is very sweet. Not as good as the other plums, but still better than anything at the supermarket. It supposed to require a pollinator but many years it is the only plum with fruit. Harvest late July.
Burgundy This is a grand daughter of Satsuma. It is one of the best plums with dark red skin and deep red flesh. It has an unusually long bloom and harvest period (1-3 months), making it an ideal pollinator for pluots. I'm thinking the MCR is 350 hours. This is the plum I recommend most highly even though it is not totally reliable. Harvest late June to August or longer.
Catalina This is a black fruit with sweet mellow yellow flesh. It is self fertile and ripens in late July. It is a highly popular commercial variety. The MCR is 300-400 hours. I believe that it is about 350 hours. My own tree gets a light to moderate crop every year.
Pluots
Flavor King The combination of Flavor King pluot and Burgundy plum (for pollination) has worked decently well in my garden for over a dozen years. Flavor King seems to have a MCR of about 300-350 hours and blooms most years, more often than Burgundy. The fruit has deep red skin and flesh with strong flavor and incredible sweetness. The fully colored fruit has a hang time of about 3 weeks and a long shelf life also. Harvest early August to early September. I get a light harvest most years and a heavy crop about 3 out of 5 years.
Splash The apricot size fruit is reddish orange with sweet orange flesh. It is very highly rated in taste tests. It should ripen in mid-July. This is a new cultivar I have not tested. The MCR is listed as 400 hours or less, just as Flavor King is listed.
My Pluot Scorecard
I haven't grown all the pluots, but here are results of some others that I have.
Dapple Dandy Produces a light crop of good fruit every year.
Flavorosa Good crop of tasteless fruit every year. (ripens too early)
Flavor Supreme No flowers or fruit, ever.
Flavor Queen Produced 2 good crops of superb fruit in a dozen years.
Geo Pride Produces a light crop of decent fruit every year.
I still need to grow
Emerald Drop, Flavor Grenade and perhaps
Flavor Finale.
