Tipson Plumcot

Overview

This Plumcot was discovered as a natural cross on the property of our friend and fellow fruit grower, Doug Hawes-Davis, and then selected by Luke. Doug has one of the best food forests we’ve seen and has experimented with growing everything from apricots, peaches, and nectarines to pawpaw, persimmon, and more—with lots of success! Given that he plants lots of natives amongst his fruit trees, pollination is high, which likely contributed to the success of this cross.

Flavor and Appearance

These plumcots will amaze you with their flavor. They’re sweet with a bit of tang. The skin color is a perfect blend of orange (from the apricot) and purple (from the plum). The skin also keeps a little of the apricot’s signature fuzziness. Honestly, these are the best plumcots we’ve tried.

Cold Hardiness and Ongoing Research

They may have Manchurian apricot in their ancestry, because they withstood -29°F on 1/12/24 at our friend David Stickler’s farm in Frenchtown, Montana. There was some minor tip dieback on the smallest-diameter new woody growth, so we suspect they may not survive -35°F or -40°F temps—but we don’t know yet! We’re still studying and learning about these, so folks who purchase will be part of an ongoing research effort to learn more about Tipson.

Spring 2027 Availability

Grafted onto Manchurian apricot. Manchurian is slightly hardier, capable of surviving below -40°F. Again, these trees are considered experimental below -30°F—they’ve handled -29°F with only light tip dieback, but lower-temperature performance remains untested.

Photo Credit: Doug Hawes-Davis