Prunus domestica 'PRESIDENT'

President is an amazing moyer plum variety of excellent taste and late maturity. Unlike most moyer plums such as Stanley of Jojo which can be picked up as early as in late August, you have to be more patient for President as it ripens in roughly mid September. And as it matures over almost 4 weeks you have plenty of time to harvest it.

The fruit is large, almost giant for a plum, deep purple blue, oval, soft but firm, stone-free, very sweet with almost no acidity or tartness. Moyer plums are often used for production of so-called soft prunes (or juicy plums) which is dried fruit with incomplete process of drying that has left some juice in the fruit that makes it soft and not leathery like typical dried prunes.

President variety was first found as a natural mutation in Sawbridgeworth (30 miles S.E. of London) in 1894. It grows rather fast and upright, forming thinner canopies which makes harvest easier. It blooms late in the spring and is self-sterile: it needs another plum tree (virtually any) as a pollination partner.

Plum trees like fertile, well-drained, moderately moist but never wet soil. On dry summers watering is essential during the fruit formation. They are taller than for example peach trees but can easily be kept smaller by pruning in spring, best done after flowering. Reduce long shoots by a third and remove all thin and weak branches. Still, when a strong and symmetrical crown has developed, trees are best left to their own devices. It is fully hardy to min. -29 °C (USDA zone 5), usually a little more than that.

Last update 16-02-2022