17 May 1996 Humble plum has number of attractions

Don't knock the humble plum – that's the plea from horticulture senior lecturer Mike Morley-Bunker of Lincoln University.

Plums are a fruit that has always come behind other stonefruit in popularity in New Zealand, he says, and there seems to be much more market interest in peaches, nectarines and apricots.

Statistics show that the area planted commercially in plums to have remained relatively steady from 1950 to 1980 in the range of 300 - 350 hectares. The 1993 Agricultural Statistics give the total as 303 hectares with the main areas of production being Auckland, Hawkes bay and Otago/Southland in that order. Canterbury grows 16.3 hectares.

The genera Prunus is quite big (approximately 430 species) and encompasses peaches, cherries and apricots as well as plums. There are about 19 species of plants that produce what might be called "plums" and the cherry plum is probably best named Prunus cerasifera.

Among the near relatives are plants with the name plum like the European plums (Prunus domestica), Japanese plums (Prunus salicina) and then distinctive types like damsons (Prunus institia) and the sloe or blackthorn (used for gin) (Prunus spinosa)

Among the names of distinctive types of plums are bullaces, greengages and mirabelles.

Prunes of course are dried plums – plums that have a high sugar content are most suitable for drying.

"I have to admit that for me personally, in the home gardening context, the cherry plum has a number of attractions," says Mr Morley-Bunker.

"There is usually a good spring flower display, the fruit are colourful as they ripen, and of course they bring the birds too and that creates a good bird-watching display.

"The cherry plum does tend to produce thorns and this is not an attractive feature for the nurseryman who uses it as a rootstock, but its ready availability, its vigour and tolerance of wet and heavy soils still make it attractive."

The Community Diary. Produced by The Community Relations Centre, Lincoln University, New Zealand.