Prunus salicina ‘Santa Rosa’ (Japanese Plum)

An old-time favorite, Prunus salicina ‘Santa Rosa’ is a small Japanese plum tree with a rounded canopy clothed in elliptic, finely serrated, bright green leaves. It bursts into a profusion of sweetly fragrant, white 5-petaled blossoms in early spring, creating a fantastic display. They are followed by a heavy crop of medium to large, purplish red plums of high quality in mid to late summer. The red flesh is sweet, aromatic, and very juicy. They are perfect for eating, canning, or making jelly. Santa Rosa is self-fertile, however, you may still want to plant pollinating partners to increase the size of your crops. Fast-growing and vigorous, this variety does poorly in the Southeast.

• Typically grows up to 15-20 ft. tall and wide (450-600 cm).
• Performs best in full sun in loamy, mildly acidic to mildly alkaline soil, well-drained soils.
• This Japanese Plum tree will begin fruiting in 3-5 growing seasons.
• This plum tree has a chill hours requirement of 300 hours of temperatures below 45ºF (7ºC) in the winter for their buds to open in the spring).
• Train your plum tree when young to an open-center shape to ensure all branches are always bathed in light and air.
• Plums require minimal pruning, which should be done after flowering when the tree is still leafless. In maturity, prune mostly to let light into the tree’s center and to encourage a moderate amount of new growth for the following year’s fruit. About 20% of the new growth each year is removed to rejuvenate the tree and control spread.
• Hand-thin the fruits (if the crop is heavy) so they are 5 in. apart.
• Japanese plums can be picked before they are completely ripe since they will finish ripening off the tree.
• Look for bacterial canker, bacterial leaf spot, brown rot, and black knot.