Plum

June 1, 2016

My ornamental purple plum tree is simply loaded with fruit this year.  Isn’t that unusual? Will it hurt my tree?  Some of the limbs are practically touching the ground with the heavy fruit set.  Is there anything I should do now?

While purple leaf plums are grown more as an ornamental than a fruit-bearing tree, it is not uncommon to have some fruit each year.  Many people make jelly from the fruits, since they are often not of great quality for fresh consumption.  It sounds like you may have too many fruits though, which could lead to limb breakage because of the heavy fruit set.  You have two options, you can lighten the load by removing some fruit, or provide some support for the limbs.  The only other thing you should be doing is watering as needed.  Then enjoy your plums, if you can beat the squirrels to them. 

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