Gardening - Q&A: Harvesting Plums

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Q&A: Harvesting Plums

Question: I have an old plum tree on my property that is producing nice plums. The problem is that either the birds get the good fruits before I can, or the ripe plums fall from the tree as soon as they are nice and sweet. Can I pick the fruits a little early and let them ripen indoors?

Answer: If you are going to use the plums for canning or jelly, you can pick them when the bloom (whitish waxy coating) first appears and the fruits are still a bit tart. When fully ripe, the plums will fall from the tree. Plums taste best when allowed to ripen on the tree, but as you have seen, that can be problematic. Some gardeners cover their trees with netting to protect the fruit but that isn't easy on a big tree. If you pick them a bit early, you can bring them indoors to ripen at room temperature, out of direct sun.

Content provided by the National Gardening Association