How to grow plums

Choose a variety of plum suitable for your growing conditions and taste preference 

Crop sizes and ripening times vary too. In colder locations, consider a late-flowering variety such as ‘Blue Tit’, to reduce the risk of frost damage to the blossom, which can reduce the crop. Varieties with an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM) are recommended by our RHS fruit experts, as they performed well in trials – see our list of AGM fruit and veg (135kB pdf) and our Recommended Varieties below. If you visit any of the RHS gardens, you’ll find many fruit trees grown in various ways, so you can easily compare different varieties and pick up useful growing tips.

It’s also worth looking for traditional local varieties that would be suited to your individual growing conditions, such as ‘Dittisham Ploughman’ from Devon, ‘Blaisdon Red’ from Gloucestershire or ‘Warwickshire Drooper’. 

Many plum varieties are self-fertile, so you only need one tree, but do check before buying. Trees that aren’t self-fertile need a compatible ‘pollination partner’ (another plum that flowers at a similar time) nearby to ensure a good crop. Partly self-fertile varieties can also produce decent crops. For more details, see our guide to fruit pollination.

Plum trees are grafted onto the roots (rootstock) of a different type of plum, to limit their size and encourage earlier fruiting. So as well as choosing a variety, you also need to choose a suitable rootstock, which depends on the size and style of tree you want: 

For smaller and trained trees:

•  ‘Pixy’ is semi-dwarfing, suitable for bushes and fans. Less vigorous varieties can be grown on it to produce cordons. Height when trained as a bush is 3-4m (10-12ft)
• ​ ‘VVA-1’ is a relatively new semi-dwarfing rootstock. Height when trained as a bush is about 3m (10ft)

For medium-sized trees: ​

• ‘St Julian A’ is semi-vigorous, suitable for half-standard, bush, pyramid and fan forms. Height when trained as a bush is 4.5–5m (15–16ft)
• ‘Wavit’ is semi-vigorous. Height when trained as a bush is 4–4.5m (13–15ft)

For large trees: 

• ‘Brompton’ is vigorous, suitable for large free-standing trees over 4.5m (15ft) in height

Most fruit nurseries will be able to advise on suitable varieties and rootstocks for your needs, and if a pollination partner is required. See our guides below for more help choosing.

Planting and training a plum against a sunny wall provides shelter and warmth 

Plums like fertile soil, ideally slightly acidic, with a pH of 6–6.5, although they can tolerate and crop well in a wider range of soils. They don’t like to dry out, especially when the fruit is forming, so generally prefer a loamy or clay soil, as long as it doesn’t get waterlogged.

Plum trees are best planted during the dormant season, before growth starts in late winter or early spring. Bare-root trees are only available while dormant, but container-grown trees are available all year round – they can potentially be planted at any time, but will settle in best from late autumn to early spring. Prepare your tree for planting by giving it a good watering if it’s in a container or by standing it in a bucket of water for half an hour if it’s a bare-root tree. If planting in a lawn, remove a circle of grass at least 1m (3¼ft) in diameter, so the tree’s roots don’t have to compete with the grass for water and nutrients as they get established. If your tree is going to be trained against a wall, plant it at least 25–35cm (10–14in) away from the wall. You’ll also need to attach horizontal wires to the wall to support the branches, this is best done before planting – see Pruning and Training, below.

No soil preparation is generally needed before planting. However, if your soil is poor or you are planting near a wall, dig a bucketful of organic matter, such as garden compost, into the soil you remove from your planting hole and use this to backfill after planting. This minimises soil disturbance and helps your tree get off to a strong start. Plum trees are easy to plant and will settle in quickly, although they may take a few years to start fruiting. See our guides below for full details.

Once established, plum trees in the ground need little maintenance to produce a reliable crop. Protect blossom from late frosts if possible and thin out heavy crops to avoid branches breaking under the weight. Newly planted trees and those growing in containers need some regular attention.

Fan-trained plum trees can produce a large crop without taking up much ground space 

• Young trees should be pruned in early spring, after the buds open
• Established trees should be pruned in summer 

Free-standing plum trees are best pruned as:

• Bush trees – with a trunk about 75cm (2½ft) tall, then three or four branches radiating out from the top of the trunk to create an open-centred goblet shape  

• Pyramid trees – similar to bush trees, but with their central shoot (leader) intact, so they don’t have an open centre. The branches start lower down, 40–50cm (15–20in) from the ground, and get gradually shorter further up the tree, to create a pyramid shape

Plum trees can also be trained into more space-saving shapes, ideal for small gardens or if you want to grow several fruit trees. The best shapes for plums are: 

• Fans – a short trunk topped with a flat fan of radiating branches, trained against a wall or fence. Prune twice a year, in early summer and straight after fruiting – see initial pruning of fans and pruning established fans

• Cordons – these are very compact, single-stemmed trees with short side-shoots, ideal for small spaces and containers. Support with a sturdy stake or horizontal wires. As there are no truly dwarfing plum rootstocks, this method is less successful with plums than with apples and pears. However, it can work with small, less vigorous varieties such as ‘Early Laxton’ and ‘Blue Tit’, grafted on semi-dwarfing ‘Pixy’ or ‘VVA-1’ rootstock. See training plums as cordons

Plum trees can be bought ready-trained, partly trained or untrained, depending on how much work you want to do. Plums aren’t suitable for training as espaliers. For more information, see our guide to pruning plums below.

Plum trees are generally hardy, healthy and easy to grow, but poor harvests can be caused by the following:

• Frosts – where possible, cover or move trees to protect flowers from low temperatures, see Protecting from frost, above
• Spring storms and windy, cold conditions – unfavourable weather conditions in spring can damage blossom and deter pollinators. Plant in a sheltered position to reduce the risk
• ​Lack of water – insufficient water can cause young fruits to be shed. If growing a plum in a container or against a wall, check moisture levels regularly and water if needed. Mulching annually will help soil retain moisture. Avoid planting in shallow, poor soil
• Birds eating plums – netting will protect fruit, either cover the whole tree (if small enough) or individual branches with plastic-free or reused netting. Ensure the netting is taut and fastened securely so birds and other wildlife don’t get entangled in it. In most cases, established trees usually produce such generous crops that some can be shared with visiting birds