Reine Claude de Bavay plum trees

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• Picking season: Late Early September
• Self-fertility: Self-fertile
• Flowering group: 3

The most widely-grown green gage, Reine Claude de Bavay has the distinctive gage-like flavour.

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Reine Claude de Bavay plum trees for sale

All about Reine Claude de Bavay plum trees

If you've ever bought green gages from a supermarket in the UK or western Europe, they are almost certainly Reine Claude de Bavay. Don't worry if you were disappointed with the flavour - you can solve that problem by growing your own!

Whilst a purist might prefer Old Green Gage, Reine Claude de Bavay also has the distinctive gage flavour, but is easier to grow. Cropping is more reliable, but as with all gages, not heavy.

The fruit is medium-sized, and green/yellow when ripe. Rated by Victorian author Hogg as "a first rate dessert plum of exquisite flavor".

Growing and Training

Although easier to grow than many gages, Reine Claude de Bavay still benefits from a sheltered south-facing position if possible.

History

Reine Claude de Bavay is thought to originate from Belgium in the 19th century, and was possibly raised by Major Esperen of Mechelen in northern Belgium, who was also responsible for the well-known pear variety Josephine de Malines.

You might also like these varieties

• 
  Cambridge Gage
  Cambridge Gage is a reliable green gage, similar to Old Green Gage, with an excellent flavour.
• 
  Herman
  Herman is one of the best quality early-season plum varieties, blue/purple with yellow flesh.
• 
  Marjorie's Seedling
  Marjorie's Seedling is an easy to grow, late-season, heavy cropping purple/black plum.
• 
  Victoria
  Victoria is the most popular English plum, attractive fruit, good for eating, outstanding flavour for cooking.

• British-grown trees

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

All our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance. Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. 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 while 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.

More about plum trees

Eating plums, also known as dessert plums, offer some of the sweetest flavours possible in the temperate garden, rivaling the best of tropical fruits. We particularly rate Avalon, Oullins Gage, Cambridge Gage, Coe's Golden Drop, Old Green Gage, and Opal.

There are several things you can do, as the gardener, to enhance the flavours of these sweet fruits. Firstly, try to plant the tree in full sun - because it is sunlight that ripens the fruits and ensures the maximum sweetness. Secondly, thin the fruitlets in June. To be fair, thinning plum fruitlets is a tedious job, but it is well worth doing because most plum varieties set too many fruits, which leads to poorer fruit size and bland flavours. So if you think your tree has over-set, carefully prune off the developing fruitlets, and don't be surprised if you end up removing half of them or even more - the tree will reward you later on.

Please note that plum trees are generally not suitable for growing in containers.