How to Thin Plums

Plum trees usually set more fruit than the tree can support. A lot of the excess fruit will drop naturally as it grows, but often there will still be too many plums remaining on the tree. This overproduction leads to small fruit, and can eventually weaken the tree. Excessive production one year can also cause a smaller crop the following year. The solution is to manually thin the fruit each year, allowing what remains to develop fully into large, delicious plums.

Instructions

1. • 1

     Observe the developing fruit until it is about 3/4 inch in diameter.

   • 2

     Remove any small, deformed or damaged fruit. Remove the fruit by gently twisting it from the stem.

   • 3

     Remove any individual fruits that appear crowded, or are touching another fruit. These are positioned too close together to develop fully.

   • 4

     Remove additional fruit until the remaining plums are spaced about 4 inches apart on the branches. This spacing will allow the plums to reach their full mature size without touching each other.