Allotment plum tree
I have requested an Avalon Plum tree from you. My allotment rules and regs say we are supposed to only plant trees on dwarf root stock. I requested the smaller tree version. Is this in dwarf stock? Or can it be trained into an espalier?
Asked by: Elaine from Shoreham, 16-Aug-2021
It is debatable whether there are actually any true "dwarf" rootstocks for plums and other stone fruit, compared to apples. "Dwarfing" or "semi-dwarf" might be more accurate.
However the VVA-1 rootstock which you have chosen is the least vigorous / most dwarfing of all the plum rootstocks, so hopefully it will be acceptable for your allotment.
Is there a specific height restriction? If you simply go ahead and plant it this tree is likely to reach 2.5m eventually, but if that is too tall then the best approach would be to plant it between two posts about 3m apart, with a couple of wires between, and train the tree as a fan by encouraging the new shoots to grow sideways rather than vertically. That will allow you to keep the height down to around 1.7m or so.
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