[hiccup]

Evening All

     I was thinking of having a go at a couple of cordon plums, but i,am not sure which varieties may
        prosper up here in the frozen north. Any ideas and advice on how to grow them would be much
        appreciated. thanks.     
       

[mumofstig]

Plums aren't usually grown as cordons, they're usually fan trained

They are prone to silverleaf disease entering pruning cuts, as cordons need a lot of pruning it gives more chance for the disease to get in IYSWIM
Also plums usually fruit at the end of the stems and this is the piece you cut off when cordon pruning  so it doesn't make much sense to me.

Can you plant one and train it as a fan by tying it back to wires on posts or a fence ?

[hiccup]

       Hi mumo
     
                    Thanks for that, I say cordons, because thats what there selling in Pomona fruits
                      catalogue. As you can tell, I know nothing. They will be going in against a fence,
                      so is it a tree I buy and train that ?

[mumofstig]

I can't see what rootstocks Pomona are using for their cordons 

You want to buy a tree on either St. Julien or Pixy rootstock or the trees will get very big
http://www.orangepippintrees.co.uk/articles/rootstocks-for-plum-trees

[hiccup]

      Once again mumo, thanks a million. the orangepippin site looks ideal.

[Trikidiki]

Just to cause you a headache, hiccup.

Try this site, I ordered from them this year and found them to be helpful and accomodating, those parts of my prders I have received look good quality.

http://www.gb-online.co.uk/prestashop/category.php?id_category=127

[mumofstig]

Is it just me, or are they just selling root stocks and scions - rather than ready to plant trees 

[hiccup]

               Thanks for the headache Triki, thats an interesting site. There's more to growing these
                  plums than I thought.

[hiccup]

              I've given up on that catalogue already mumo, after your site and triki's

[Trikidiki]

I wasn't aware that plums were tip-bearing, my three plums on the allotment (Victoria, Czar and President) all have short fruiting spurs along the length of their branches.


An interesting article about cordon training plums:

http://kitchengardenblog.co.uk/2014/03/09/cordon-training-of-plums/

[Trikidiki]

Is it just me, or are they just selling root stocks and scions - rather than ready to plant trees 

The link I gave was to the plum scions, the plum trees are at:

http://www.gb-online.co.uk/prestashop/category.php?id_category=80

but it seems they are all 'Out of Stock' now.

Their other products can be found using the menu on the left.