Duo of plum trees

The Opal and Victoria Plum make a very competitive pair for producing a harvest spreading from late July to late September. They complement each other in flowering and offer abundant fruiting on a single tree. These varieties, grafted on the same rootstock, produce yellow-fleshed, juicy, and highly fragrant fruits, with Opal producing dark red plums and Victoria producing larger red-purple fruits. Once the spring flowering is over, the plum tree is adorned with dark green foliage, providing welcome shade in summer. It is resistant to cold and requires ordinary, well-drained, moist, rich, and deep soil, but not limestone, and without stagnant moisture. Ornamental and fruitful at the same time, this duo finds a place in isolation on a lawn or within a flower bed, orchard, or fruit hedge. Perfect for small gardens.

This tree brings together two grafts:

- An Opal Plum graft: A vigorous and early, self-fertile and very productive variety. It is a small, ovoid plum, 2.5 to 3 cm in diameter, dark red, with firm, juicy, and sweet yellow flesh, with a finely fragrant flavour. They are mainly consumed fresh, but they are also ideal for making pies, clafoutis, and jams. It is highly resistant to diseases and is a very effective pollinator. It can be harvested from late July to mid-August.

- A Victoria Plum graft: A less vigorous but highly productive variety. Large elongated to ovoid fruits, 4 to 5 cm in diameter, red-purple with a yellow background, with yellow, semi-firm, and highly fragrant flesh. Harvest begins in early September. This self-fertile variety is also a good pollinator.

Prunus domestica (Common Plum) is a fruit tree belonging to the Rosaceae family, just like the apricot tree, almond tree, and peach tree. It is native to Syria, where it sometimes grows up to 1000 metres in altitude. The 'Opal' variety was selected in 1925 by the Alnarp Research Institute in Sweden and is the result of cross-breeding between the Early Favourite and Reine-claude d'Oullins varieties. The 'Victoria' variety was first described in literature in 1856. It originated from a seedling found in Alderton, Sussex, in Great Britain, and was dedicated to Queen Victoria of England.

This plum tree forms a fruit tree with a fairly rounded framework that can reach a final height of about 5 metres, producing numerous branches grouped in spreading crowns. Its habit is well suited to free forms on standard, half-half, or bush stems. Its deciduous foliage is composed of obovate, 6 to 8 cm long, crenate and toothed leaves, slightly hairy underneath and dark green. Towards the end of March for 'Opal' and the beginning of April for 'Victoria', white, 1.5 to 2.5 cm diameter flowers appear solitarily before the leaves on the previous year's branches. The flowering is sensitive to spring frosts, but it is so abundant that frost rarely compromises the harvest. It has a remarkably decorative flowering in spring, particularly nectar-rich. It is hardy to -20°C. These are two self-fertile varieties, so they do not need a companion to bear fruit. The flowers can self-pollinate, but their presence, close to each other, allows for cross-pollination, thus increasing the number of fruits.

These two plum varieties grafted on the same tree offer abundant, regular and quick fruiting, around 3 to 4 years, optimal fruit production is achieved after 5 to 7 years. An adult plum tree (between 10 and 20 years) produces an average of 35 to 50 kilograms of fruit per year. The first harvests can start with Opal in late July, then continue with Victoria in September, as they ripen. Since plums are quite fragile, they are carefully harvested with a picking pole or manually with a ladder. The fruits are consumed right after harvest. Delicious and delightful plums can be eaten fresh, raw, or mixed in a fruit salad or dessert. They are also exquisite in clafoutis, cakes, crumbles, or pies, and as an accompaniment to savoury dishes with white meats (turkey, chicken, veal...) or tagines. They are also perfect for making jams, compotes, juices, or preserved fruits in syrup.

The plum is a light and balancing fruit. It is low in calories and rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium, with a significant iron content. Its content of vitamins C, B, E, and K, phenolic antioxidants, and fibre make the plum a healthy choice. It is invigorating, energising, and rehydrating. The fruits can only be stored for a few days at room temperature. However, they can be frozen once washed, dried, and pitted, or preserved in jams or syrup.