High Quality Fruits-Prolific Production-Beach Plum Type-Clean Foliage and Fruit
Dunbarii plum produces a great variety of flavors from tart to sweet. Bright Sky captures the middle ground of flavor with just the right amount of tart and sweetness. The 1/2 inch fruit red fruits are tart but delicious fresh with little astringency in the skin. This highly productive plant always has clean fruit and foliage which does not discolor during the summer or drop early in August. The plums are are not bothered by insects or diseases of any type. Bright Sky produces a small colony type plum and is worthy of propagation as a clonal plant and grown from seed.
"Bright Sky" Plum This selection of plum is an excellent fruiting plant with clean foliage and fruit. The yields are very high. The bright red and yellow coloration makes it a stand out in the beach plum class. The fruit averages 1/2 to 1 inch in size. It can be eaten fresh off the plant once fully ripened. It is a good jam maker and is easy to pick. The plants reach 4-5 ft. at maturity and spread slowly by runners which can be cut off to increase your planting. The large leaves stay clean on most summers and the fruit production is good but not enough to cause it to go into biennial bearing, a common trait with this type of plum. The large trunk shows it can out live beach plum and can be managed like a small tree replacing the plant as it spreads outward. This is the best dunbars plum at my farm with a very solid fruit set every year. Scions are sent with each order of seeds if requested. Scions are shipped dormant in January or February. Seeds are shipped immediately.
To germinate the seeds: Plant in the fall in good garden soil 1/2 inch deep. Seeds will sprout in the spring. Even if it frosts seedlings will bounce back. Some seeds will remain dormant for an additional season and come up the following spring. For refrigeration mix the seeds with lightly moist Canadian peat moss and refrigerate 33-38 F for 90-120 days. When you remove the seeds after the 90 - 120 days refrigeration and put at room temperature the seeds will crack open and the roots will emerge. Some of the seeds will need an additional warm and cold period to break the final dormancy.
Seeds have been floated to remove blanks.
Plant Specs |
Genus & Species |
Prunus maritima x americana |
Seed Source |
Michigan Ecos Selection |
Hardiness |
-30 F |
Height (ft) |
6-8 ft. tall with an equal width. Will spread by stolons making a 20 ft. circle of plants in 30 years. |
Soil |
Sandy, low organic soil ideal. |
Climate |
Tolerant to cold and heat. Foliage is clean throughout summer even in high humidity areas. |
Ease of Cultivation |
One of the best runner plums for delicious clean fruit with little or no disease or insect damage. Highly recommended to use stolons to create large colonies. Plants retain foliage, remain strong and require no additional fertilizer. Competitive with grass and will shade an area over time. |