Longjohn Plum

It helps. Longjohn Plum is partially self-fertile, so it can set some fruit alone, but a second variety nearby makes crops more dependable. Longjohn sets some fruit alone but crops heavier with another European plum such as Stanley or Mount Royal. Japanese and hybrid plums (Toka, Superior, La Crescent, Ptitsin #5 and the like) cannot pollenize it. Partners we carry include Stanley Plum, Mount Royal Plum, Italian Plum.

We rate Longjohn Plum hardy to zone 3b, which means winters down to about -35°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.

About 800 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 700 and 1,000. Nobody has published a chill figure for it, so that's our estimate from its relatives and origin. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

We graft Longjohn Plum onto Krymsk 86 (full size).

Our top use scores for Longjohn Plum are fresh eating (8/10), pies and baking (7/10), drying (7/10), jams and jellies (6/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.

For some diseases, yes. It's resistant to bacterial spot. It holds up moderately well against black knot. It's prone to bacterial canker. Nobody has published solid data on it for brown rot, cytospora canker and plum pocket yet, so we list those as unknown. Our plum disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Yes, deer love it. Protect Longjohn Plum with a fence or a cage, especially while it is young.

A dormant bare-root plant, roots wrapped in moist sawdust with a vapor barrier, shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring. Sizes offered: 1-2 ft or 2-4 ft. We guarantee our plants bud out. Stone fruits can be slow, so if one still has not budded out by August 15, write to us and we credit you for the following spring.