Purple Gage Plum
European Plum
 
Fruit ripening time: Late February – Early March
 
A good quality fruit with an intense sweet flavour, rich and sugary and reminiscent of the Greengage. 
 
A small to medium sized, round fruit. The skin has a lovely violet-purple colour, and the flesh is greenish-yellow, firm and highly flavoured. A free-stone variety. More resistant to cracking during wet summers than Greengages. 
 
The tree is moderately vigorous. 
 
Uses: Excellent fresh eating. Also great for preserves and baking. 
 
Storage: Plums generally have a short storage time once they are ripe and are best kept refrigerated. However, the fruit will ripen on the tree over a period of 1 to 2 weeks, ensuring the fresh fruit can still be enjoyed for a good length of time.
 
Purple Gage is partially self-fertile. However, crop yield is increased when a suitable pollinator is present. Flowering Group 3.
 
Pollinators: Angelina, Coe’s Golden Drop, D’Agen, Greengage, King Billy, President, Victoria
 
Tree Size: Approximately 3 - 5 m tall and 4 m wide, depending on the shape.
 
Tree Care:
For best results plant in full sun, in fertile, free draining soil, preferably a friable loam with good aeration. 
 
If the soil is free draining, dig a hole twice the size of the root ball, plant the tree so the top of the root ball is level with the soil line and back fill with a soil and compost mixture. If the soil is not free draining, plant the tree in a raised mound of soil and compost mix, to prevent water logging.
 
Choose a sheltered position, out of strong winds. 
 
Water in well at planting, and water regularly, especially in dry spells. Young trees will benefit from being mulched. Apply mulch in a ring around the tree base, keeping clear of the trunk.
 
Plums are produced on spurs on 2-year and older wood. Prune in dry weather in winter, to shape your tree and develop a good framework.