Plum Pollination Map

Plums come in two groups that don't cross. European plums only pollenize other European plums, and Japanese, hybrid and native plums only pollenize each other. Find your plum's group first, then pick a partner from that map.

European plums

Stanley, Italian, Mount Royal and the rest of the European group. Several set some fruit alone, but almost all crop better with a second European plum.

Hybrid plums need a proven pollenizer

Toka, South Dakota, Kaga, Kahinta and Superior are the pollenizers prairie breeders recommend, along with native American plum seedlings. Those show as the strongest matches below.

Add a native plum

Some Canadian programs say hybrid plums set best with wild plum pollen. A Native American Plum bundle in the block is cheap insurance.

Pairs that don't work

Superior won't pollenize La Crescent, and Brookgold and Brookred don't work together. Tipson Plumcot hasn't been tested, so give it a Japanese or hybrid plum pollenizer.

Find a partner for your tree

Pick a variety you have or want. You'll see every tree we carry that will pollenize it, with what's in stock first.

European plums

Find the tree you want fruit on in the left column, then read across. Each column is a pollen source. These only cross with other European plums.

Good match (same bloom group)Partial match (one group apart)Bloom too far apartPoor pollen (triploid, pollen-sterile or disputed)Won't work (same clone or incompatible)Same variety
Sort:

* bloom group is our best estimate.

Japanese, hybrid and native plums

Find the tree you want fruit on in the left column, then read across. Each column is a pollen source. Stars mark the recommended hybrid plum pollenizers. Tipson Plumcot hasn't been tested as a pollenizer, so its column shows as unknown.

Good match (same bloom group)Partial match (one group apart)Bloom too far apartPoor pollen (triploid, pollen-sterile or disputed)Won't work (same clone or incompatible)Not tested yetSame variety
Sort:

* bloom group is our best estimate. ★ recommended hybrid plum pollenizer.

Bloom groups at a glance

European plums

4 Mid

Japanese, hybrid and native plums

3 Early-Mid

4 Mid

5 Mid-Late

6 Late

How to read these maps

Bloom groups

Every variety gets a bloom group from 1 (very early) to 7 (very late). Groups only compare varieties of the same fruit. An apple in group 4 and a plum in group 4 don't bloom at the same time.

Close enough counts

Two varieties in the same group or one group apart overlap enough to pollenize each other, as long as the pollen is good and they aren't the same tree genetically.

Where the groups come from

Published bloom records come first. For apples that's measured bloom dates from the Apple Biodiversity Collection in Nova Scotia, checked against multi-year nursery and extension groupings. Next comes sourced facts, like a sport blooming with its parent. Anything marked * is our best estimate from the variety's origin and relatives.

Your spring will vary

A warm or cold spring shifts every tree earlier or later, but the order stays about the same. If you watch your trees bloom and something doesn't match, tell us. Your notes make these maps better.

More pollination maps