Santa Rosa plums, botanically classified as Prunus salicina, are a famous stone fruit cultivar belonging to the Rosaceae family. The plums grow on deciduous trees that can reach up to seven meters in height, and the variety bears fruit within 3 to 5 years, versus other cultivars that typically require 4 to 6.
Are Santa Rosa plums good eating?
Their fine-textured clingstone flesh is delicious when eaten fresh, canned, or used in cooking. While the Santa Rosa plum is a self-pollinator, you’ll harvest a better crop when planted with other Japanese varieties.
What do Santa Rosa plums look like?
Beautiful, dark color: Red-skinned with a purple bloom, the juicy amber flesh of these Santa Rosa plums is flushed with a bright red hue at the edges. You may see scars on the fruit every so often, but these are strictly cosmetic and do not affect the fruit’s flavor at all.
Where do Santa Rosa plums come from?
A favorite of home gardeners and farmers’ markets, the Santa Rosa plum, was introduced in 1906 by famed horticulturalist, Luther Burbank, out of his home in Santa Rosa, California. It is known for its sweet, slightly tart taste, and deep purple red color.
What is the season for Santa Rosa plums?
A “Santa Rosa” plum tree starts producing fruit when it reaches 3 to 5 years of age. It is an early-producing variety, covered in white blossoms in May and ready to harvest late in July. The plum fruits are ready to pick when their skin gives a bit when gently squeezed.
What is the best tasting plum?
Elephant Heart – mottled dark crimson colored skin, rich firm, red, juicy flesh. One of the best tasting plums with extremely sweet flavor. Japanese variety has clingstone fruit.
How do you use Santa Rosa plums?
Santa Rosa plums have a sweet, subtly tart flavor well suited for both sweet and savory dishes. The plums can be eaten raw or cooked, and the skin can be kept on for a tangy flavor or removed for a sweeter taste.
Do Santa Rosa plums ripen after being picked?
They will ripen some off the tree. So you can pick them fully colored and ripen them at room temperature. But it is best to pick them after they start to feel soft to the touch.
Do you need 2 Santa Rosa plum trees?
Nope! The Santa Rosa is self-fruitful, meaning it can pollenize itself without even having other plum trees nearby.
Can you freeze Santa Rosa plums?
Freezing plums is as easy as can be, and the fruit wedges will last up to six months in your freezer. Use your frozen plums to make jam or preserves, add them into smoothies, or eat the wedges straight out of the freezer for a cool treat.
Is a Santa Rosa plum Japanese?
An old-time favorite, Prunus salicina ‘Santa Rosa’ is a small Japanese plum tree with a rounded canopy clothed in elliptic, finely serrated, bright green leaves.
Which plum tree is best?
Plum ‘Pershore’
‘Pershore’, also known as the ‘Yellow Egg Plum’, is one of the best types of plum trees to grow if you’re looking for a traditional, old-fashioned cooking variety. The heavy and reliable crops of large fruits have a sweet and delicious flavor.
Do Santa Rosa plum trees lose their leaves in winter?
None of them have any leaves yet. Once they get going they will leaf out, flower and produce fruit quickly, but at this time of year it is normal for them to be dormant even in the mildest of climates.
What is the most popular plum?
Japanese plums
The most popular type of plums now are Japanese plums and come in black, red and yellow colors. Black plums have mild to sweet taste and are usually used in tarts to add texture to baked dishes. The red ones have a sweet-tart flavor, and the yellow varieties are smaller, rounder and are also called lemon plums.
What is the hardiest plum tree?
Some of the best and hardiest plums for our area are the Japanese-American hybrids, developed from crosses between the large fruited Japanese plum and the native, cold hardy American. Varieties include ‘BlackIce’, ‘Toka’, ‘Waneta’, and ‘Pembina’, all of which have sweet, red or purple fruit.
What type of plums are in grocery stores?
The two main types of commercially grown plums are European (prunus domestica) and Japanese (prunus salicina). European plums, aka prune plums, are mainly grown to be turned into dried plums. Their thick skins, high sugar content, and dense flesh make them ideal for drying, and best for baking and jam-making.
How do you preserve Santa Rosa plums?
Put plums directly into cold syrup in container, starting with 1/2 cup syrup to a pint container. Press fruit down and add syrup to cover, leaving headspace (amount of headspace varies by type of container). Seal, label, date and freeze.
Which plums are Japanese?
Japanese Plum Growing
“Methley,” a sweet, red plum. “Shiro,” a large, sweet vibrantly yellow plum. “Toka,” a red hybrid plum.
Do I need 2 plum trees to produce fruit?
Plums are a stone fruit that are both delicious and beautiful. Most plum trees are not self-pollinating, so you will need to plant at least two plum trees to bear fruit. When planting a plum tree, it is important to make sure that the variety you choose will grow well in your climate.
Should plums be refrigerated?
Whole plums should be stored at room temperature until ripened. Once ripe, the plums can be kept whole in a bowl in the refrigerator and covered with Glad® Press n’ Seal wrap. Or, to store cut plums, remove pits and cut fruit into chunks or wedges of desired size.
What month are plums ready?
Plum trees are sold either bare-root (without soil around the roots) or in containers. Bare-root trees are only available while dormant, from late autumn to late winter, for immediate planting. Containerised trees are available all year round.