Prunus salicina 'GOLDEN JAPAN' Japanese plum - early

Golden Japan is one of the most wide-spread and commercially successful Japanese plums (gages). It is an early variety maturing in July, often just a little before apricots and usually along with sweet cherries. The fruit is medium-sized, rounded, golden yellow, sometimes with pink to scarlet red dots or small cheeks when fully ripe on the tree. The taste is very sweet and the flesh is pale yellow and juicy, not free-stone. Thick skin secures longer life and the fruit is less prone to damage during harvesting and transport.

The best way to eat early plums or gages is fresh off the tree, obviously, but they can be processed into jams and canned, even dried and frozen. A plum preserve is divine and if you think that the plum puree is not sharp enough you can add a little bit of lime juice, or mix a few cranberries into a bottle.

It flowers in May and is self-fertile which means it does not need another plum tree to bear fruit, and on the other hand pollinates many other plum trees with its pollen. It forms quite a substantial tree growing 6m or more tall with an upright crown. They are best grown untouched, though young trees grown fast for quick commercial yield may need some initial pruning in order to create a strong framework of branches that can hold all their fruit. Pruning is also possible if you wish to keep the tree smaller. Do so at any time between flowering and harvest. It is not picky about soil provided it is not too compacted, stone-based, or water-logged. Warm and sunny locations are essential for best fruit quality. Fully hardy to about -29°C.

Last update 29-10-2016