When Are Plums Ready to Pick

When are plums ready to pick? Plum trees give fruit four years after they are planted, with annual harvests of three bushels or more. The mature trees are available for harvest between late spring and late summer, reaching a height of 20 feet. The fruit is nutrient-dense and delicious, and it’s great for fresh eating, canning, and preserving into jellies and jams.

Determine whether your plum tree is Japanese, American, or European. About 2 months after the last winter frost, Japanese plums are ready to pick. In general, American plums are ripe in mid-summer, with European types arriving a few months later.

Keep an eye on the color of your plums. Ripening is indicated by a change in color. However, Ohio State University advises that unless you know your plum tree’s unique variety, detecting ripeness purely by color is difficult.

Plum trees give fruit four years after they are planted, with annual harvests of three bushels or more.

About 2 months after the last winter frost, Japanese plums are ready to pick.

To determine the maturity of the fruit, feel it. Plums that are fully ripe will feel somewhat mushy and yield to gentle finger pressure. To test for softness, gently push down on the fruit with your thumb. The fruit will have a nice scent and the skin will feel powdered. Fruit that isn’t fully ripe will feel solid and smooth.

Avoid plums that are damaged, discolored, fractured, broken, or shriveled while harvesting. This might be a sign of illness or decay.

To determine the maturity of the fruit, feel it.
The fruit will have a nice scent and the skin will feel powdered.

To avoid infecting neighboring fruit, remove any sick or damaged fruit as away. Wasps and other pests will be attracted to rotting fruit left on your tree. Allowing fallen fruit to decay on the ground under your tree is not a good idea.

To avoid bruising, pick ripe plums by the stalk. The stalk should readily snap. Breaking fragile branches raises the danger of decay and disease in your tree, so be careful.

Allow as much time as possible for plums that you plan to consume right away to ripen on your tree. Harvest the fruit just before it is totally ripe if you want to can it or cook with it. Plums that have fully matured do not survive long on the tree.

To avoid infecting neighboring fruit, remove any sick or damaged fruit as away.
Allow as much time as possible for plums that you plan to consume right away to ripen on your tree.

Refrigerate ripe plums to keep them from spoiling. Under-ripe plums can be stored at room temperature in a paper-lined container in a dark place. Over the next few days, the fruit will continue to mature.

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