Around five years ago I planted greengage trees in my garden. My children and I had grown them from pips taken out of plum stones. They've largely grown well, but the fruit from them is not greengage-like at all; in fact they taste more like apples, and none of us like them. I'd guessed that the lack of a suitable pollinator was to blame, but before I buy other trees I wanted to clarify if that's the real problem, or was it incorrect to grow them from pips?
Unfortunately, those trees are doing what they would in nature. All of the greengage that you purchase have been grafted from a known producer and grafted to a reliable rootstock.
When you plant a seed from the fruit, you are introducing ALL of the genetic variability from both parents, one of which is probably a wild fruit.
You will always expect this from a seed planted and non grafted fruit of all kinds, unfortunately. They will rarely ever be anything like the fruit it was planted from.
Now let's get to the real issue at hand... Those are, in fact, apples. My guess is that a wild seed made it in, or perhaps the pots were mistakenly switched. There are many explanations, but none of them include changing from one genus to another.
We had plenty of fruit this year (which was fine and tasty)and no other problems. The veins remain green in the centre of the leaf!
This could be a number of things. If the crop was fine, then I would be inclined to say that it could be a simple nutrient deficiency. If you are not thinning the tree, it can become too heavy with fruit, cause crowding and disease. See the cultural requirements below.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/plum/growing-green-gage-plum-trees.htm
causes this and how do I fix it? Thank you
Your photo did not come through. There are many things that can cause this, depending on the exact location, appearance, and speed of spread.
The most common issues resulting in these symptoms will be insect, and fungal/bacterial damage.
Here are some articles that will help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/what-are-organic-pesticides.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/using-fungicides-in-garden.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/disease/using-lime-sulfur-in-gardens.htm
Hi, we moved into a older farmhouse three years ago, we have a small orchard with one large cooking apple tree, two smaller pear trees and two large(ish) green gage plum trees. Two years ago, the plum tree was loaded with soft juicy fruit, last year nearly nothing :-( This year, again hardly any fruit, and what fruit is there is blighted and hard. I understand that sometimes fruit trees only bear fruit every two years ?? But there seems to be a specific issue here. I enclose some photos for your information..
Some trees produce so prolifically one year they don't have enough energy the next year to fruit. Your lack of fruit also could be due to failure to thin the fruit.
The blighted appearance could be due to plum curculio, a beetle that causes extensive damage.
These articles should help:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/plum/plum-tree-diseases.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/plum/growing-green-gage-plum-trees.htm
The tree is about 6 years old. Last year I got about 5 plums. That’s it ever, why? It gets a lot of sun, but not the morning sun. It sits next to an apricot tree, which goes very well. Is it suppose to blossom, why doesn’t it fruit?
If it is planted next to your Apricot, and it does well, then I could guess that it just isn't quite established enough yet.
This can happen to freshly transplanted trees. Sometimes it can take several years to finally see fruit set.
If your Apricot were having trouble, as well, then I would say something was off in the soil. Since this is not the case, then I'm likely to believe that it will produce more and more during the next few years.
Seeing something, even just a few fruits, is a very good sign. It means that it will finally be ready to fruit in the coming years.
Here is an article that will help you with the care of the tree:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/plum/growing-green-gage-plum-trees.htm
Planted my greengage tree early this year and it only has leaves at the top of each branch. the rest of the stem has no bud or any sign of life. Is this normal for a young tree? Should i prune it at some point? Thanks.
It does sound stressed. Unfortunately, your photos did not come through. I am unable to see the extent of the damage.
Now would be a good time to prune, but if the tree is overly stressed then it could kill it. I would wait until next year to prune, since it was just planted recently.
Here is an article that will help you with the care of the tree:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/plum/growing-green-gage-plum-trees.htm