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Countess cherry plum trees

Prunus x cerasifera
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  • Picking season: Early
  • Self-fertility: Partially self-fertile

Countess is a new dual-purpose cherry-plum. The fruits are large by cherry-plum standards, in fact similar to a good-sized plum. They have a rich and very sweet flavour - and a better eating quality than most mirabelles and cherry plums.

Like other cherry plums and mirabelles, Countess is also good for cooking and preserving.

This is a semi-freestone fruit - the flesh sticks to the stone but is easily removed.

The fruits ripen in early July in southern England - they ripen quite quickly, turning from orange to deep crimson within a few days. Pick them as soon as this starts to happen if you want to cook with them, or leave them for a few more days if you want to eat them fresh. It is difficult to judge the ripeness by touch alone as they remain quite firm even when fully ripe.

Countess cherry plum trees for sale

Pot-grown

All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.

  • PG12-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree VVA-1 rootstock £62.00
    Medium tree (2m-3m after 10 years)
  • PG22-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree St. Julien rootstock £60.50
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)

Bare-root

  • BR11-year bare-root tree St. Julien rootstock £41.50
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season

Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts

Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.

Next deliveries

Order now for delivery from week commencing 6th January.

Delivery charges

Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.

Growing and Training

Countess usually flowers profusely, and is partially self-fertile. Its flowering season is very early, typically late February or early March in the south of England. The blossom appears on bare-branches, just before the leaves come out, and is an impressive sight.

Countess produces lots of blossom and flowers over an extended period, so is a good pollinator for early-flowering cherry-plums, and related plum species such as pluots and Japanese plums.

History

Countess was developed in Ukraine. Some authorities classify this variety with the mirabelles (Prunus insititia) but it is actually a hybrid variety and its flowering and ripening periods make it closer to the cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera).


Countess characteristics

Growing

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Self-fertilityPartially self-fertile
  • Flowering group1
  • Pollinating othersGood
  • Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesWarm climates

Using

  • Picking seasonEarly
  • CroppingGood
  • Keeping (of fruit)1-3 days
  • Food usesEating freshCulinaryDual purpose

Identification

  • Country of originUkraine
  • Period of origin1950 - 1999
  • Fruit colourRed - dark
  • Flesh colourGolden / Yellow

British-grown trees Trees grown in the UK.

Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK. Find out more.

In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance. Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK. Find out more

Guaranteed fruit trees

When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden whilst it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund - subject to some conditions. Find out more.