Hedgehogg's Inbox

Amazing photo ! Mothernature at her finest !

Does anyone know anything about mirabelle plums - small yellow plums the size of cherry tomatoes. My little boy loves them. Can we grow them in uk? Have only seen them in italy.

It's your lucky day hedgehogg. I have goggled because I found one at Bridgmere garden centre (now unfortunately owned by wyevale) near nantwich yesterday. I was reliably informed by the staff that it grows and fruits in the UK ALTHOUGH the person i spoke to hasn't had any this year due to an April frost which affected the flowers.

Spent many years trying to rid my garden of ground elder. Digging and then spraying with RoundUp when young leaves reappeared worked to a degree. Then by chance in one of the areas I had cleared I planted a few Geranium macrorrizhum Ingwersen's variety. It clumped up quickly and the young ground elder shoots were smothered and never reappeared. I repeated this all over my garden with other geraniums in areas where I had ground elder and it worked but the ground-covering varieties of the macrorrizhum variety ,especially Ingwersens, work best and means I now have virtually no ground elder.

Duhhh...like it says at the top of the photo. I zoned out a bit.

Great photo and an interesting plant. What is it?

Hooray! Success! Of course it's worth a try, Hedgehogg. Glad to be of help.

Hi Hedgehogg - well, after some research, i've found your plums. The variety is 'Prunus insititia Mirabelle de Nancy' and if you go to the RHS plantfinder - via their website which is www.rhs.org.uk, then go to the 'plantfinder' and type in Prunus institia mirabelle you will get a list of suppliers. You may be lucky and find one in your area, if not, there are some which do mail order. Good luck! Please let us know if you find one, won't you!

Your very welcome Hedgehog.

Hope this helps

The mirabelle plum, also known as the mirabelle prune (Prunus domestica var. syriaca), is the edible drupaceous fruit of the mirabelle prune tree, a cultivar of the plum tree of the genus Prunus. It is believed that the plum was cultivated from a wild fruit grown in Asia Minor.
The mirabelle plum is identified by its small, oval shape, smooth-textured flesh, and especially by its dark yellow colour which becomes flecked in appearance. They are known for being sweet and full of flavour. The fruit is primarily used in jams and pies, and its juice is commonly fermented for wine or distilled into plum brandy. Ninety percent of mirabelle plums grown commercially are made into either jam (70%) or eau-de-vie (20%). The plums are also excellent when eaten fresh.
The mirabelle reaches maturity and is harvested from July to mid-September (Northern Hemisphere). The traditional method of shaking the trees is now mechanized, but the principle remains the same: The ripe fruits are shaken loose and collected in a net.
The mirabelle is a specialty of the French region of Lorraine, which has an ideal climate and soil composition for the cultivation of this fruit. This region produces 15,000 tons of mirabelle prunes annually, which constitutes 80% of global commercial production.
There are two main cultivars grown for fruit production, derived from cherry plums grown in Nancy and Metz. The Metz type is smaller, less hard, and less sweet, and has no small red spots on the skin. It is very good for jam, while the Nancy type is better as fresh fruit as it is sweeter.
Since 1996 the mirabelle de Lorraine has been recognized and promoted by the EU as a high-quality regional product, with a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). This label guarantees a minimum fruit size (22mm) and sugar content, and can only be used in a specific geographical zone of production.

best weishes
Kev

In Kent, in my previous garden, I had two wonderful plum trees - 'Victoria' and 'Marjorie's Seedling'. Both widely available and reliable...

If I were you, I'd google for UK fruit tree suppliers. That will tell you if they are considered suitable for the UK - and also, of course, where you can get one!.

Well we've got plenty of them in Hungary growing semi-wild. Didn't know the name until you wrote this. I can see no reason why they shouldn't grow in UK. After all they are a plum.

:-)

Hi, cant advise on which plum tree or anything but can say that I buy my fruit trees from Blacklands nursery in the south, he deals through ebay and sends his plants out bare rooted, I have had currants a thornless blackberry and two apple trees, you could have a look anyway

If i could figure how to reduce the photo size i would post my night time photos of the ones we saw in spain this year!

their brill

Yummy, they look scrumptious!

Thats lovely

Wow! She has quite a crop there. I love them, they are delish!

Gorgeous Pink Flowers:)

If my agave will flower like that I would be so pleased. This is stunning, I have seen them like that in real. This is another stunning photograph. Well done.

Yes, I was wondering what it was...I had to look sideways, lol.

Looks like you were standing on the precipice to take this, careful Hedgehogg.

Excellent photo!

It sue is. It looks like a oleander, what do you think? Lovely colour that one.

That's beautiful.

That is amazing! I have never seen kiwis growing before. How lovely they look and I like the way you can look underneath those leaves and see all their veins. Perfect.

is that agave flower?
where was it taken?

Stunning photo!!