Description of the Honey plum variety, planting technology, care and pruning, pollinators

The Honey plum gained its popularity due to its excellent taste - honey aftertaste, and resistance to adverse environmental factors. This fruit variety is also known among gardeners as a high-yielding and frost-resistant plant with lush flowering. To grow honey plum, you must adhere to the basic rules of agricultural technology and choose exclusively healthy seedlings.

History of the variety

Honey plum, as the Honey plum is also called, was obtained as a result of breeding work in the early 50s on the basis of the Donetsk branch of the Institute of Horticulture of the UAAS. Its author was Lilia Ivanovna Taranenko, who has already bred over 50 varieties of fruit crops. The parent pair of the Honey plum was the American large-fruited Jefferson, from which resistance to frost and disease was obtained, and the Western European Peach, which gave it early ripening and high productivity.

Often the Honey yellow plum is also called the Honey white plum, but it is more correct to call it Renklod early. Initially, this variety was adapted to the climate of the steppe zone of Ukraine, but due to its sufficient frost resistance, it began to be planted in other areas. Honeydew grows and develops normally in the middle latitudes of Russia, but the variety is not listed in the State Register of this country.

Description and characteristics of honey yellow plum

A distinctive feature of the Honey plum is its tallness; the tree grows up to 7 meters and has a spreading crown, which suggests the presence of a large area for its cultivation. The diameter of the crown is almost 5 meters, but the plant has no tendency to thicken. According to the description of the variety, the Honey yellow plum produces fruits weighing 55 grams. They are distinguished by their spherical shape and waxy coating; as they mature, their color changes from white to yellow with an amber tint.

The plum pulp is quite sweet, juicy, and has a slight sourness. Fully ripened fruits have a pronounced plum aroma. Tasting rating of the variety: 4.5 points out of 5.

Advantages and disadvantages

Among the positive characteristics of the Honey plum variety, experienced gardeners highlight:

• The plant is undemanding to growing conditions.
• Sufficient level of frost resistance (up to -30 degrees) and return spring frosts.
• Resistant to dry weather and heat.
• High yield rates (it is possible to harvest 35-40 kilograms of fruit from one tree).
• It begins to bear fruit 3-4 years after planting in a permanent place.
• Excellent consumer and product qualities.
• The harvest is not afraid of transportation over long distances.
• The fruits have a universal purpose.
• Resistance to moniliosis.

Due to its ability to produce a stable and abundant harvest of plums, Honey needs supports, otherwise its trunk may split.

Pollinators for the variety

The yellow honey plum is a self-sterile plant; without additional pollination it is unlikely to obtain the maximum possible yield. Such varieties of plums as Vengerka Donetskaya early, Vengerka Donetskaya, Renklod Karbysheva are considered to be its effective pollinators. If the area is small, then you can achieve the desired effect by grafting specific cuttings. Alternatively, in the area of ​​50-60 meters you can plant other varieties of plums with an early flowering period.

Growing a tree

Properly carried out planting work increases the chances of obtaining high yields.

Selection and time of landing site

It is optimal to plant honey plum in early spring - in March, when warm weather sets in. It is propagated by seedlings. Preparatory activities are carried out in October. In the southern regions, plum trees can be planted in the fall; the main thing is to fertilize the area with humus and lime two weeks before planting day.

Honey plum grows and bears fruit better in well-lit meadows protected from draft winds, where groundwater is low. The soil for planting honey plum can be either clay or sandy. In order for the fruits to be sweet and juicy, and the tree not to get sick, it is necessary to maintain a distance of 3-5 meters between neighboring plantings and this variety.

It is effective to place the Honey plum near the elderberry, which protects it from small aphids; also neighbors can be: cherry, sweet cherry, peach, apricot and apple tree. But currant bushes, pear, birch, walnut and coniferous trees do not get along with the Honey plum.

Seedling preparation

It is recommended to purchase honey plums from nurseries or specialized retail outlets. When choosing seedlings, you should pay attention to the root system; it should be well developed, without traces of mold or disease.

The trunk should not contain any damage; there should be live fruit buds on the branches. The height of a young Honey plum should be no more than 1.5 meters.

If you plant tall seedlings, the process of adaptation and rooting will occur slowly and painfully for the plant. When purchasing a plum with a closed root system, planting is done together with a lump of earth. Before planting, it is recommended to treat exposed roots with Kornevin’s solution, keeping them in it for 2-3 hours.

Landing technology

The algorithm of actions regarding planting the Honey plum in a permanent place provides:

• Excavation of a pit. The top layer of soil 30 centimeters thick is removed to the side, and the rest is completely removed; it is not suitable for draining. The pit dimensions are 60×60 centimeters.
• Installing a wooden peg in the hole to tie up the Honey plum if its roots are exposed.
• Laying a drainage layer of broken bricks and crushed stone. Moisture should not stagnate in the ground.
• Adding a nutrient composition from fertile soil, cow manure (2 buckets), wood ash (500 grams), superphosphate (100 grams) and potassium chloride (85 grams).
• Place the seedling in the center of the hole. If the underground part is open, then the roots should be spread to the sides.
• Sprinkling honey plum roots. There is no need to deepen the root collar; it should be 5 centimeters higher from the soil level. To avoid voids, the soil is carefully compacted.
• Irrigation using 2 buckets of water.

To preserve moisture in the tree trunk and from weeds, the soil is mulched with peat.

Rules of care

To ensure that the garden plant does not get sick and consistently bears fruit, it is necessary to provide it with appropriate care.

Watering and fertilizing

The plum tree needs soil moisture after the flowering phase, at the stage of ovary formation, fruit ripening and before wintering. The consumption for each adult planting is 5 buckets of water; the soil should be moistened 40 centimeters deep. The frequency of watering depends on weather conditions; if there is little precipitation, the procedures are done more often.

The first time the Honey plum is fed is a year after planting. In the spring, urea is added (180 grams per 30 liters of water), in the summer, Nitrofoski working fluid (200 grams per 30 liters of water). And in the fall, a mixture of superphosphate and potassium sulfate (50 grams of each product).

For the fruit-bearing Honey plum, the feeding procedure is done before the flowering phase, using urea (180 grams), potassium sulfate (180 grams) and water (30 liters).The second manipulation is carried out during the period of fruit ripening, using a mixture of urea (180 grams), Nitrophoska (220 grams) and water (30 liters).

Trimming process

The first pruning of the Honey plum is done a year after it has been identified to a permanent place. All ineffective parts of the crown must be removed. Such manipulations are performed 3 times a year. Pruning of young plants is carried out in early spring, before sap flow begins.

The central conductor of an annual plant is shortened to 1.5 meters, and the side branches, located at a level of 50 centimeters from the ground, are completely removed. The summer procedure for shaping the crown involves trimming the side branches by 20 centimeters. Before wintering, fruit-bearing and damaged branches are cut off. Anti-aging manipulation is carried out when the plum reaches 15 years of age.

Preparing for winter

Before wintering, it is necessary to carry out moisture-recharging irrigation, cover the soil with a mulch layer of 15 centimeters, using peat or manure for this purpose. Preparatory measures also include whitewashing not only the tree trunk, but also its skeletal branches. Paper and burlap, which is used to wrap the plum trunk, will help protect the plant from subzero temperatures.

Treatment against diseases and pests

Although Honey Plum is characterized by increased immunity to major diseases and harmful insects, it must still be treated with special preparations. For preventive purposes against sawfly, scale insects, small aphids and weevils, it is effective to use a solution of Karbofos, Nitrafen, Chlorophos. And for rust, fungal infections, and holey spotting, drugs such as copper sulfate and Bordeaux mixture work well.

Harvesting and storage

Honey plum fruits are harvested from mid-July to early August. The harvest is harvested in the evening and in dry weather, starting from the lower tiers. The fruits are placed in wooden boxes and stored indoors at a temperature of 0-1 degrees and air humidity of 86-90%. The shelf life under such conditions is 2 months.

Honey plum is an excellent solution for regions with severe frosts. Growing an abundantly fruiting tree is not so difficult if you follow basic planting and care recommendations.