- Blood plum: flowering period, origin and properties
- Blood Plum Varieties
- Planting blood plums: location and procedure
- Care for Blood Plum
- Propagate Blood Plum
- Blood Plum Fruit: Edible or Poisonous?
- Blood Plum Harvest: When are they ripe?
- Blood Plum: Diseases and Pests
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The blood plum tree (also called ornamental plum) not only impresses with its appearance, but also with its delicious fruits. We reveal how to plant the blood plum correctly and what to consider when pruning and fertilizing.
The blood plum (Prunus cerasifera ˈNigraˈ) owes its name to the characteristic reddish coloring of its leaves. In addition to the pretty red foliage, the bright pink flowers give the tree a special ornamental value.
Blood plum: flowering period, origin and properties
The blood plum is a variety of the cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera), the foliage of which appears in a shiny metallic dark red tone. It originally comes from the Near East. With us, the early flowering ornamental tree is not only to be found in gardens and parks, but you can also often find it growing wild in the wild or on meadow orchards and in hedges at the edges of roads and fields. The blood plum grows as a large shrub or as a small to medium-sized tree and reaches heights of 5 to 7 meters. The trunk has a blackish colored bark. Older shoots have a dark brown-red, shiny bark and are usually covered with fine thorns. Annual shoots are brown-red in color. Before the leaves sprout, the delicate, 2 to 3 centimeter flowers of the blood plum appear from mid-March. These are composed of five radially arranged petals. They are soft pink in color and surround the stamens, which are also pink.
From April the deciduous leaves develop. They are about 5 centimeters long, have an elliptical shape and become a little darker as the growing season progresses. At the end of April to the beginning of May, juicy, sweet plums form after flowering. The 2 to 3 centimeters thick cherry plums are ready for harvest from July.
Blood Plum Varieties
The most common blood plum variety is Prunus cerasifera 'Nigra'. This variety was introduced from the USA around 1916. She grows asLarge shrub, but can also be grown as a tree with a trunk. It reaches a height of 3 - 4 meters and a width of 2 - 5 meters. The dark red, shiny leaves and the bright pink flowers are characteristic.
Another blood plum variety is Prunus cerasifera 'Woodii'. It can hardly be distinguished visually from the 'Nigra' variety.
The variety Prunus cerasifera 'Hollywood', also known to us under the variety name 'Trailblazer', also grows as a loosely branched shrub. It grows 3 - 7 meters high and 1 - 2.5 meters wide. Its fruits are slightly larger than the previously mentioned varieties, which is why it is also known as the "large-fruited blood plum".
Blood plum as standard
The blood plum varieties mentioned above can also be raised as a standard and are also sold as such in specialist plant shops. In this growth form, the blood plum can be wonderfully planted individually in the garden.
Dwarf Bloodplum
As the name suggests, the dwarf blood plum Prunus x cistena is characterized by a lower growth height (1.5 - 2.5 meters) compared to other blood plum varieties. The slow-growing variety is considered the original species and opens its numerous pink-white flowers between the end of April and May.
Pillar Bloodplum
The blood plum variety Prunus cerasifera 'Crimson Pointe'® is known as the columnar blood plum because of its upright, columnar growth. It reaches heights of 3 - 5 meters, but is only 1 - 1.8 meters wide.
Planting blood plums: location and procedure
Blood plums are very robust and undemanding plants. The perfect location for the blood plum is full sun to shade and warm. The ornamental tree also thrives in partially shaded or shady places, but usually produces fewer flowers. Soil should be moderately dry to moist, nutrient-rich, with a high percentage of clay and a neutral to alkaline soil reaction. The tree thrives in most garden soils without any problems. If the blood plum has grown successfully and is well established in its location, it will survive dry summer months without damage.
The right time to plant a blood plum is in autumn or spring. When the right location in the garden has been found,you dig a planting hole that should be about twice as big as the plant container or the ball. It is filled with slightly loosened garden soil or potting soil. Here, for example, our peat-free Plantura organic universal soil is very suitable. Due to the high proportion of compost and the organic fertilization, it offers optimal starting conditions for long-term good plant development. For container plants, the roots should be lightly scored before planting. The resulting injuries stimulate their branching. Then place the plant ball in the planting hole, fill it up with substrate and water properly.
Tip: Large blood plums or trees raised as a standard should be attached to at least one, preferably two wooden posts with a stable tree tie. Without a connection, the young trees have little support and cannot grow well, since the newly emerging fine roots are torn off again and again with every movement above ground. However, this measure is not necessary for small container plants.
The blood plum can also be planted in a bucket for the balcony or terrace. However, only the dwarf blood plum with its comparatively low growth height is suitable for this. When choosing a suitable pot, make sure that it is big enough (at least 40 liters) and has a drainage hole. With an additional drainage layer made of potsherds, waterlogging can be reliably avoided. Either garden soil or potting soil such as our Plantura organic universal soil is suitable as a substrate. It has a good structure and contains all the important nutrients for he althy plant development.
Care for Blood Plum
All in all, the blood plum is a very robust and undemanding tree. In addition to occasional fertilization and watering of young blood plums, pruning measures can be taken if desired. Further care measures are usually not necessary.
Fertilize and water the blood plum
As an undemanding ornamental tree, the blood plum does not require regular fertilization. However, fertilizing with horn shavings or compost or using high-quality potting soil when planting offers good conditions for vigorous growth. In order to maintain the nutrient content of the soil, compost fertilization can also be carried out later in the spring.
Occasional fertilization is advisable for blood plums in tubs. Because compost is rather unwieldy here, an organic complete fertilizer such as our Plantura organic universal fertilizer can be usedcome into use. Mineral fertilizers should be avoided, especially for potted plants: In the long term, they ensure that the soil collapses and plant growth deteriorates due to the resulting lack of oxygen at the roots.
Especially immediately after planting, an adequate water supply is important so that the young plant grows well. Older blood plums usually do not need to be watered. Even longer periods of drought in the summer months usually do not harm the developed blood plums.
Cut Blood Plum
The blood plum does not need to be pruned regularly. However, an occasional pruning promotes flowering. If necessary, the shape of the crown can also be changed by pruning measures and the blood plum can also be raised as a half or standard tree. In older blood plums, the crown can be pruned if it grows too dense. The tips are not shortened here, but whole branches are always removed. Make sure that you cut on the cones: This means that when you remove a shoot or branch, you always leave about 5 cm long stubs, the cones. This measure is important because trees of the genus Prunus rarely close their wounds by overflowing, i.e. the formation of wound tissue (callus), but merely drying them back at the affected areas.
Tip: The blood plum is hardy here. Only in rough locations should the trunks of young trees be painted or covered with lime in winter, as their young bark is prone to frost cracking.
Propagate Blood Plum
Blood Plums can be propagated from seeds or from cuttings. Propagation from seed is a very time-consuming affair, while Cherry Plum cuttings rarely come through.
Fortunately, it is possible to graft Blood Plum. The best method for grafting the blood plum would be copulation. The scions are cut in winter until about the end of January. These should be stored in a cool, dark place until they are grafted between March and April.
Blood Plum Fruit: Edible or Poisonous?
The fruits of the blood plum are edible. Only the seeds contained in the core are poisonous. Therefore, one should not swallow the seeds. The ripe cherry plums can be eaten raw and have a sweet taste. They are wonderful to use in aromatic jams or cakes.
Blood Plum Harvest: When are they ripe?
Fruiting begins in early May at the latest when the flowers have faded. About two months later (from the beginning of July) the fruits are ripe and can be harvested.
The approximately 3 cm large blood plums turn cherry-colored when ripe, deep red to violet. The fruits yield slightly when pressed with a finger, becoming softer and thus heralding the harvest time of the blood plum.
Blood Plum: Diseases and Pests
Diseases that are relevant to blood plums but are not usually life-threatening are powdery mildew, monilia (tip dryness and fruit rot) and shotgun disease. These are fungal diseases that often occur in fruit trees. Pests that affect the blood plum are mainly the aphid and the winter moth.
Big bloodplums are usually rarely affected by fungal diseases. In young plants, however, the affected foliage should be removed to prevent spread. A change of location can also be considered for young plants if it is suspected that an unsuitable location has promoted the disease. In addition, an adequate supply of potassium and calcium can prevent fungal diseases. For example, our Plantura organic universal fertilizer is very suitable for this. With its long-term effect and its balanced NPK ratio, it promotes the maintenance of he althy, vital plants. Occasional liming or spreading eggshells as fertilizer is also beneficial to blood plum he alth.
A moderate aphid infestation does not usually need to be combated. If you have ladybugs in your garden, they will reduce the infestation. If you're having massive aphid problems on your cherry plum, see our aphid control article for help.
If you would like to find out more about other decorative ornamental trees and shrubs for your garden, you will find what you are looking for in our special article on 10 shrubs and trees with intensive autumn colours.