Plum Burbank Giant

Burbank giant is a diploid hybrid of cherry plum and plum. It was bred by Luther Burbank, USA, the author of not only new varieties, but several fundamentally new plants (seedless plum, sun berry).

Plum Burbank giant is a tree of medium height, usually up to 2.5 meters, but the growth potential is up to 5 meters. The tree is thin, graceful, spreading, the crown is pyramidal, of medium density. The foliage is abundant, dark green in color. Growth rate is average. Diploid plants have a dual set of paternal and maternal chromosomes. Such plums have very large juicy fruits, they are hardy, ripen faster.

The fruits are large, they are huge even for a diploid plum, they can reach 200 grams. The average fruit weight is 150 grams. Diameter - 4-5 cm, individual fruits can be up to 9 cm in diameter. The shape of the plums is round, with a pronounced seam. The skin is burgundy, darkens as it ripens, becoming blue-violet, almost black. Ripe fruits are covered with a gray waxy bloom. The pulp is medium-dense, luminous, yellow-orange in color, to the skin it is pink-red. The stone is very small and cannot be separated from the pulp. The fruits tolerate transportation well and have excellent high qualities: even, calibrated, spectacular.

The pulp of the Burbank giant plum has a sweet and sour taste, with a predominance of sweetness. It is fragrant, aromatic, delicate, of excellent dense consistency. The juiciness is moderate. The taste is rich, bright, balanced. The appointment is universal. Plums are consumed fresh, used for blanks, dried on prunes.

The variety is early maturing, the harvest is harvested in the last decade of July and the first decade of August. Plums stay on the stalks for a long time, do not fall off, the timing of harvesting can be varied. Plants begin to bear fruit 3-4 years after planting.

Productivity - 30 kg from 1 tree.

In Ukraine, the plant can be grown in all regions, in the Russian Federation it is preferable to grow it in the south. In the middle lane, the cultivation of this plum can be attributed to the field of experimental gardening.

The plant is self-fertile, but planting a number of other varieties will be beneficial.

The best stock is cherry plum. Seedlings for planting must have live, healthy, well-branched roots. Plants are planted on sunny, calm heights, the plum does not like stagnant moisture or snow. Groundwater should be no closer than one and a half meters. Distance between trees - 2 m, between rows - 4 m.If it is planned to grow the Burbank giant plum to its full potential, then the distance from other plants should be at least 3 meters.

The soil should be loose, well dug, 1 sq. meter is brought in 1 bucket of humus, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of superphosphate and 1 cup of sifted ash. Plums prefer alkaline soils. If the litmus test gives a pink or red color, the area needs to be deacidified. Dolomite flour, slaked lime, crushed chalk are added dropwise to the acidic soil.

It is best to fertilize in the fall and plant the plants in the spring. Planting holes are dug 2 weeks before planting, their depth and size is from 60 cm. But you should be guided by the size of the seedling. A nutrient mixture of humus, ash and superphosphate is poured at the bottom of the pit, sprinkled with a layer of ordinary soil.

When planting, leaves the root collar of the plum 2-5 cm above ground level. The soil is well compacted, a roller is made around the plant, 3 buckets of water are poured out. Repeat abundant watering after 2 weeks. It is very useful to mulch the plant immediately after the first watering.

The variety is unpretentious and does not require any special growing conditions. Traditional elements of agricultural technology will be needed.

1. Pruning - formative, thinning, sanitary. Immediately after planting, the guide is left; in subsequent years, several tiers are formed, preventing the appearance of strong branches competing with the guide. Then the branches thickening the crown are regularly removed. The size of the fruit depends on the number of ovaries.

2. Watering must be carefully measured; in a drought, adult plants are watered abundantly once every 3-4 weeks. During the active season, you usually need no more than 2-5 waterings. Water consumption - 30-50 liters per 1 tree. Plum loves water, the bulk of its roots lie at a depth of 50 cm, but does not tolerate waterlogging. The tree needs the most moisture during flowering and ovary formation. If the weather is dry and hot, some of the harvest may simply not set. During the ripening period of the crop, less moisture is needed, otherwise the fruits may crack.

3. Top dressing in the first year is not needed, the plant has enough nutrients from the soil. Further feeding is verified. Like any fruit tree, the plum loves good nutrition, but excess can be harmful. If the soil is nutritious, top dressing may not be required for the first 3 years after planting. Then it is enough to fertilize no more than 2-3 times per season. In the spring - ammonium nitrate and other nitrogen-containing fertilizers, during the season, calcium, boron, magnesium are useful, in the fall - phosphorus and potassium. In old trees, over 12-15 years old, the topsoil is renewed annually. On a half-bayonet of a shovel, they dig up the earth with humus. Better yet, completely replace the old earth layer.

4. To prevent diseases, plants are regularly examined, all damaged branches, leaves and fruits are removed. In the spring it is sprayed with Bordeaux liquid, during the year "Fitosporin". The Giant Burbank variety rarely gets sick, so for many years it is possible to do only with preventive treatments.

The variety has average frost resistance. However, sometimes fruit buds are able to withstand up to –20 ° C.

The abundant root growth that the rootstock gives must be removed. So that this procedure does not get tired, you can graft a cultivated plant into the root collar, and then deepen it 30 cm into the soil when planting.

From the 3rd year of life, plums are carefully monitored in the second half of summer and autumn. The tree is able to resume its growth if there is too much moisture and nutrition, and the fall is warm. This happens especially often when the summer was very dry. To avoid this, you should level the moisture supply of the tree, water more often in summer and exclude autumn watering, remove mulch from the soil.

The reviews are positive, the leader in size is difficult to ignore. The size of the plum may not reach the promised size. For example, in some gardeners, the largest fruits were only 180 grams. But it depends on the growing conditions. If you do not thin out the plum, allow it to set many fruits, they will be smaller. There are reviews and that the fruits are really huge. Gardeners love the Burbank Giant variety. He is flawless. This plum is not a masterpiece of taste, there are varieties that are tastier, but in terms of the totality of features, it is much ahead of the average weight of varieties. A hardy, unpretentious tree, abundant, very dense, maturing fruits, quite tasty and very beautiful. The variety is excellent for individual and commercial cultivation.