Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption
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James
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Plum "Jubilee" a rival to Victoria?I bought a new plum variety ("Jubilee") last winter on a pixie root stock. Jubilee is marketed as a dual purpose plum, cropping a week or so earlier than Victoria, slightly larger fruit, slightly heavier yielding & very hardy.
My aim is to have a tree that tops out at around 10ft & probably about as wide (so I can reach the whole tree for harvest & pruning). The intention is that it'll provide enough plums to eat fresh, make jam & bottle but without having so many I've got a glut of plums lying around on the lawn.
The tree was bought from Chris Bowers. Their service was good and the bear root 2 year old bush arrived looking healthy & ready pruned in a very nice 'goblet' shape.
This spring it put out just over a dozen flowers. Almost all set fruit. I know it was the first year in the ground, but I figured I'd let it set these few fruit because the growth rate was good and I fancied trying the fruit. There's been hardly any fruit drop during the season. Growth has been good this year with each branch at least doubling in size- it looks like a nice little bush now.
Anyway...the fruit:
I cant say much about the size, because this really is a juvenile tree, and I wouldn't expect fully sized plums yet. They're the size of small Victoria's (you know when a Victoria over-crops and produces loads of little plums?....this size). This is decent size in itself & no small feat for baby tree...I'd say this suggests the mature tree will produce a decent size fruit.
The taste is lovely- a good mixture of sweetness and sharpness, with a slightly floral smell. You really know your eating a decent plum when you bight into it. top marks.
The texture is also good- firm when you bite into it, but easily liberates lots of juice. I'd imagine this will be useful for freezing or bottling- I'd expect they can keep their shape well.
But the thing I really love is the colour. You know when its ripe because in a matter of days the skin turns from a pinkish blush, not dissimilar to a ripe Victoria, through to a deep reddish purple blush with a heavy bloom. Its not a purple skinned plum, much of the skin is still yelowy pink, but it takes on a beautiful "copper-beach" purple blush on the sunny side of plum . At this stage, they're just asking to be munched.
The down sides-
1) the period of ripening was quite short. I know I only had a dozen or so plums, but they all ripened within a matter of days. It had the feel of commercial variety in this respect. I expect this will follow through to the mature tree, and I'll have a few days in mid august of frantic plum processing. Ideally, I'd preferred a slightly longer harvest window.
2) A few plums rotted on the branch very, very rapidly when they neared maturity. This could have been the wet weather or it may be a weakness, but they'd change from being healthy young plums to rotten things in a matter of days.
3) Wasps and blackbirds love 'em.
All in all, I'm really impressed with it, and I'm pleased I chose this instead of the ubiquitous Victoria. Victoria is hard to beat, but in my opinion, Jubilee can give it a run for its money. And the colour beats it hands down.
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lottie
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I planted a Jubilee last year---it's growing well but no blossom this spring, although I tend not to let them set fruit their first year anyway---encouraging that you've got good results---disastrous year here for plums/damsons, even the mature ones 
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orangepippin
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Re: Plum "Jubilee" a rival to Victoria? | James wrote: | | Victoria is hard to beat, but in my opinion, Jubilee can give it a run for its money. And the colour beats it hands down. |
In my opinion most plum varieties beat Victoria when it comes to flavour. Avalon is another Victoria-like one which tastes far better. I think Victoria is popular ... because it's popular.
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tahir
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Re: Plum "Jubilee" a rival to Victoria? | orangepippin wrote: | | most plum varieties beat Victoria when it comes to flavour. |
and there are so many different ones to choose from...
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lottie
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I have planted several varieties of plums hoping to get a long cropping period and variety of uses. The original mature trees here are Victoria and I like them, the taste, their variety of uses and the fact that they are not too temperamental, if you are only having one tree in a garden I can see why they are still popular.
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James
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| lottie wrote: | | if you are only having one tree in a garden I can see why they are still popular. |
true, its a reliable tree that looks after itself and repeatedly gives heavy crops of decent multipurpose plums
...but there are varieties out there that are just as good in every respect, and often better.
I think I agree with orangepippin on this- Victoria's are popular becuase they're popular. Rather like Conference pears
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lottie
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Errr----I quite like conference pears as well 
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James
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same hear 
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