Plum Tree
Prunus domestica
📖 About this plant
Deciduous tree producing smooth-skinned stone fruits in purple, red, yellow, or green. Used fresh, dried (prunes), canned, and in preserves; many hybrid varieties exist.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
Full sun (6-8 hrs)
Every 1-2 weeks
Moderate (40-60%)
5-28°C
Well-draining, fertile loam (pH 5.5-6.5)
Balanced 10-10-10 in early spring; compost in autumn
🌐 Common Names
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Europe and western Asia
- 📏 Max height
- 4-6 meters (12-20 feet)
- 📐 Spread
- 300-450 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Late Winter - Spring
- 🎨 Bloom color
- White, Pink
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial
- 📈 Growth rate
- Moderate
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Leaves, stems, and pits contain cyanogenic glycosides — toxic to dogs, cats, and livestock. Fruit flesh is safe for humans.
- 🌱 Propagation
- Grafting onto rootstock; chip budding in summer
🛡️ Health & Safety
Leaves, stems, and pits contain cyanogenic glycosides — toxic to dogs, cats, and livestock. Fruit flesh is safe for humans.
Common issues
- Black knot fungal galls
- Brown rot on fruit
- Plum curculio
- Leaf curl from aphids
💡 Care tips
- Requires a chilling period in winter for proper fruit set
- Plant in well-drained soil to prevent root rot diseases
- Thin fruit clusters in early summer for larger remaining fruit
- Most varieties need a pollination partner for good yields

