Japanese-American Hybrid Plums

Hybrid plums are crosses between Japanese plums and our native American plum. You get the big, juicy fruit of a Japanese plum on a tree that handles a northern winter. They're some of the best fruit you can grow in zone 3, and every one needs a second plum to set fruit.

More about hybrid plums

Toka is the one we'd plant first. It's rated to zone 2b and scored 10/10 as a pollenizer for other hybrid plums. Superior is the best eater of the bunch, and the two are a classic pair. See Toka vs Superior for why you want both.

Brookred is hardy to zone 2. Black Ice, Pipestone, Underwood, La Crescent, Gracious, Hanska, Kaga and Kahinta are rated through zone 3, and Benson's Gem to 3b. La Crescent, Pipestone and Superior bloom late, which helps in frosty spots.

None of these are self-fertile, so plant at least two, with Toka or native American plum in the mix as a pollenizer. The plum pollination map shows what blooms together, and if you're missing the plums you grew up with, read Santa Rosa plum alternatives.

Questions we get

What is a hybrid plum?

A cross between a Japanese plum and the native American plum. It has Japanese plum size and flavor with much more cold hardiness.

What's the best pollenizer for hybrid plums?

Toka, which scored 10/10. Native American plum is a strong pollenizer too. Toka still needs a partner of its own.

What hybrid plum is hardiest?

Brookred is hardy to zone 2, and Toka to zone 2b. Most of the rest take zone 3.

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