Flava American Plum Seeds

Yellow fruited American plum is one of the few selections of from seed plums that can be reproduced via seeds and stolons. This selection was found from a collection of plums used as a buffer between a street and an office building. I was fortunate the company that owned the property allowed me to collect and from there most of my American plums were originally produced from this group. Eventually seedlings were selected that had yellow fruit and some larger fruited selection up to 2 inches in diameter. In the end, the yellow fruited ones tasted the best with little astringency in the skin yet still have that wild plum flavor and deep yellow interior. 

Flava American plum can be produced from seed or stolon. It is true to type from seed. Some of the selections have a lightly speckled red skin. Individual trunks begin to fade after 15 years or so and need to be replaced by new stolon sprouts. Always good to cut out the older plants that begin fading and soon they will be attacked by borers. This is the life of a plum. The older root system will continue the life of the colony for a long time to come. Scion wood available by request with order of seeds.

Yellow:   Selected yellow only plants with pure yellow with light red spotted blushing on some fruit. Smaller fruited in solid clusters. Sweet interior with only a light astringency in the skin.

Large: Selected larger fruited selections above 1 1/2 inches with a light red and yellow mottled skin. These are more mixed than flava and have some smaller fruits but are also very clean with little blemishes. A good overall mix of different American plums showing the range of flavors and sizes. Some trees produce only a small amount or no suckers and tend to have clean foliage throughout the summer.  

To germinate the seeds: Seeds need to cold stratified by adding moist media to the seeds and storing at 33F to 38F for 90-120 days. The seeds will split in the refrigerator and can be plucked out and planted as they continue. Some are doubly dormant with American plum but normally the majority pop right away. Fall planting seeds can be done in the field by planting 1/2 inch deep and tamping into the soil 1 inch apart. Cover lightly with sawdust mulch.