Growing organic Methley plums in Arkansas
Living in the south, Japanese plum trees are one of the best options when considering planting plum trees. Although European plum trees will do well in both northern and southern states.
Self-pollinating plum trees
My favorite type of self-pollinating plum tree is Methley. However, Au-Roadside, Beauty, Damson, Green Gage, Mount Royal, Persian Green, Plum Burgundy, Santa Rosa, and Stanley are also some other worthy choices of self-pollinating plum trees.
I prefer growing self-pollinating trees when possible. Self-pollinating means that planting two different varieties of trees isn't required to bear fruit.
Varieties of plum trees that require planting two different types of plum trees are referred to as being self-unfruitful. These types have to be planted with another type of plum tree to bear fruit. The Ozark plum tree is one example of a self-unfruitful tree.
However, there's still a tiny catch. Even though you don't need two separate varieties of plum trees to self-pollinate, the best fruit comes from cross-pollinating (planting two separate varieties). Be aware that you can't cross-pollinate a Japanese plum tree with a European plum tree because they bloom at separate times.
Most plum trees will take around three to possibly six years before they start bearing fruit. I have grown to understand that how much the fruit trees bear fruit is mostly up to mother-nature. For a couple of years in a row, my trees bloomed like crazy at the first sign of spring, which is usually a wonderful thing. However, we kept getting massive amounts of winter weather and the frost killed the trees' blooms. When mid-June arrived, there weren't many, if any, plums to harvest.
The plum trees that I have planted are Methley. They are self-pollinating trees, but cross-pollinating with other Japanese plum trees will give Methley plum trees a much better yield. Hardiness zones are five to nine.
Methley trees grow upright and require little to no pruning and they're not as picky when it comes to planting them, because they tend to grow well in any type of soil. They also tend to mature in three to four years, which is faster than other varieties.
Methley plum trees start blooming, beautiful white flowers in early spring. The fruit starts ripening in June and July. Usually July fourth is my biggest plum harvest day. The fruit is satisfyingly sweet and extremely juicy when fully ripened.
Planting plum trees
To plant a plum tree, select the location in a partly sunny area, add fertilizer to a depth of four inches, and mix it with the soil. Dig a hole twice the size of the tree's root ball. Place the trees in the prepared hole, then cover with soil and water well. Add a thick layer of mulch around the trees to help the soil retain moisture. Water the tree saplings with about one inch of water every week.
The absolute best time to plant plum trees is in early spring or late fall.
I never use fungicides, herbicides, or pesticides on my trees. They're grown truly organic. Which does mean from time to time that the fruit will have a fruit worm on the inside of the plums.
Once plum trees are established, they actually thrive in hot, humid heat. They're also almost disease and bug resistant. Which makes Arkansas a great place to grow plum trees.
References:
Pitto, T. (2022, April 6). 10 Fruit Trees to Grow in Arkansas (Including Native). Tree Vitalize. https://www.treevitalize.net/fruit-trees-in-arkansas/
SMITH, P. A. (2022, June 7). Homegrown Fruit | P. Allen Smith Garden Style. www.theepochtimes.com. https://m.theepochtimes.com/homegrown-fruit-p-allen-smith-garden-style_4456112.html