Northern Blue Plum

No. Northern Blue Plum is self-fertile, so a single tree can set fruit. Northern Blue is self-fertile and fruits on its own. A second European plum such as Stanley can still boost the crop. Partners we carry include Stanley Plum, Italian Plum, Early Italian Plum.

We rate Northern Blue Plum hardy to zone 2b, which means winters down to about -45°F. Our notes have it taking -42°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. Seedlings vary, so that's based on the parent, Mount Royal. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

We graft Northern Blue Plum onto Krymsk 86 (full size). Some sizes are on Native Plum.

Our top use scores for Northern Blue Plum are fresh eating (7/10), jams and jellies (6/10).

We don't know yet. Nobody has published solid disease data on Northern Blue Plum for bacterial canker, bacterial spot, black knot, brown rot, cytospora canker and plum pocket, so we list it as unknown instead of guessing. That doesn't mean it's weak. Plenty of the plants we grow have never been through formal disease trials. Our plum disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Yes, deer love it. Protect Northern Blue 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: 2-4 ft or 4-6 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.