What are the growth and fruiting habits of plum trees?

Plum trees germinate and bloom earlier in spring, second only to apricot trees, so they are vulnerable to freezing injury in North China. Flowers bloom first, then leaves spread. Most China plums and American plums bear better fruits, but pollination trees are still needed to ensure the yield and quality. Young flourishing trees have a long growth period, many times of growth and secondary branches at the same time. The secondary branches that occurred earlier can still blossom and bear fruit in the same year. 2 ~ 3 developmental branches or long intermediate fruit branches can be produced at the top of extended branches, followed by short branches, short fruit branches and bouquet-shaped fruit branches, showing obvious top advantage and hierarchical structure. Varieties with strong branching ability can still extract new branches in the same year after medium-long fruit branches bear fruit, and then transform them into small branches composed of medium-short fruit branches and bouquets, but their fruiting ability is not as high as that formed by developing branches.

With the growth of tree age, the tree is getting weaker and weaker, and short fruit branches and bouquets are dominant. After 4-5 years of continuous fruiting, the fruiting ability declines, often with more flowers and less fruits, poor quality, and some malnutrition is easy to die. Trees with sufficient fertilizer and water, good ventilation and light transmission, the main fruiting parts can be stable in the middle and lower parts of the crown for a long time, and the fruits are well colored and of good quality. The fruit maturity of plums in China is often inconsistent. In order to ensure the quality of fruit, it can be picked by stages and batches. Pay attention to the accurate ripening according to the use when harvesting, and protect the branches and leaves and fruit powder. The flower bud differentiation period of plum trees is early, and it is concentrated in June-July in Beijing.