The Domesticas and Insititias, the plums now almost exclusively grown
in New York, grow most satisfactorily, all things considered, on rich
clay loams. The plum orchards in this State on such soils contain the
largest and most productive trees and produce the choicest fruit from
the standpoints of size, appearance and quality. Yet there are exceptions
in which exceedingly fine Domestica plums are grown on light loams. The
Station collection of about two hundred varieties of European plums is
on stiff clay, but well drained, and the results are uniformly good.
The Americanas and Nigras grow very well on much the same soils as the
European sorts, speaking from the experience on the grounds of this
Station, for varieties of these species are not generally grown in New
York. Beyond question the Triflora plums, next most widely grown in
New York after the Domesticas, are giving the best results on light
soils—those most favorable for the peach. The ideal soil for this species
is a sandy or gravelly loam but they are growing well on soils having
either more sand or more clay than the ideal types. The Hortulana and
Munsoniana plums incline to the comparatively light types of soils named
as being best for the Trifloras rather than to the heavier lands on which
the European plums are most commonly grown.
Plum-growers are well aware of the necessity of good drainage for this
fruit but few seem to realize the importance of warmth in a plum soil.
The plum, in common with all stone-fruits, grows best, as a rule, on
soils having the power to absorb and retain heat, or if the soil have not
these properties the location and the cultivation should be such as to
provide as far as possible for “bottom heat.”
STOCKS AND PROPAGATION.
A discussion of stocks naturally follows one of soils, for the two are
intimately related. The plum can be successfully grown on various stocks
and for this reason the practices of nurserymen are diverse, depending
upon the cost of the stocks, the ease with which they may be budded or
grafted and the adaptability of the tree to the stocks. Unfortunately
there is little experimental data to show which of the several stocks is
best for the different plums and since growers seldom know what stocks
their plums are growing upon they can give almost no information as to
the desirability of propagating on this stock or that. Nurserymen know
the stocks best adapted to their purpose and from them we have sought
information.
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