Colourful cup-shaped plum queens pollinator duo

This Colourful Reine Claude Pollinator Duo in Cup brings together the excellent varieties "Golden Reine Claude (or green)" with round and golden fruits renowned for their excellent taste, and Reine Claude d'Oullins, which produces round plums, yellow canary in colour tinged with pink, more suitable for preservation, reaching maturity from mid-July. Planted in the same garden, these two plum trees pollinate each other, ensuring an abundant harvest that extends from mid-July to the end of August.

This duo consists of:

- x1 'Golden Reine Claude' : a variety introduced a long time ago in the southwest, easy to grow, renowned for the flavour of its large round plums. The tree can reach a height of 8 m. Its fruits ripen around mid-August, they are round and measure about 4 cm in diameter. They have a thin skin, greenish-yellow, with a golden side where the plum receives the sun. The flesh, pale yellow, is juicy, sweet, and aromatic: it is of excellent taste quality. A very good pollinating variety, the Golden Reine-Claude is not self-fertile and requires the presence of another plum tree to fruit satisfactorily. Slightly sensitive to fruit splitting before maturity but without monilia, this plum tree is a variety tolerant to Bark-Split disease and withstands handling and transportation well.

- x1 Reine Claude d'Oullins: an early, vigorous, very fertile, and hardy variety. Its fruits ripen from mid-July to August, offering a spread out harvest. They are spherical, 4 to 4.5 cm in diameter, with a thin skin, yellow canary tinged with pink when ripe. The flesh, greenish-yellow, is semi-firm, semi-tender, sweet, and fragrant. These fruits are mainly consumed in preserves and jams. Self-fertile, it is a very good pollinating variety for all other plum trees. It is resistant to monilia, its fruits do not fall when ripe (possible cultivation in windy areas).

Individually labelled, in 7.5/10 Litre pots

The original area of plum trees is said to be Syria, not China. During the time of Roman hegemony in the region, various local fruits including plums were introduced to Rome. This fruit tree has an open and spreading habit. Well pruned, it will be easy to harvest. It requires little care and maintenance thanks to the natural openness of its branches. It enjoys the sun or partial shade and thrives in any type of rich, moist, deep soil, even heavy, but not chalky.

Its deciduous leaves are oval, almost oblong, serrated-toothed, and slightly pubescent. They fall in autumn. Flowering occurs in March or April depending on the varieties.The tree is then covered entirely with white flowers that appear on the leafless branches of the previous year. They are not self-pollinating in most cultivated varieties. It is therefore necessary to plant another plum tree nearby to obtain fruits or more abundant harvests.

Plums are consumed fresh at the foot of the tree, in fruit salads, but also as dessert, pastries, with meats and dishes. They are made into jams, of course, but also in syrup fruits, compotes... They are also used to make brandy.

A cup-trained fruit tree has no central leader (vertical main stem), but branches radiating from its trunk. This particular form allows good penetration of sun and air into the canopy, promoting fruit development and ripening, while limiting disease development.