Long John has long been held as the prize plum of prunes. Yet it is also great eaten fresh. Long John got its name from the fact that the fruits are elongated, rather than round. It has deep blue flesh that is high in antioxidants. What’s more, it’s cold tolerant to 30 below zero for short periods, which makes it great for Garrett County growing.
It blooms in April and bears fruit in late August. One of Long John’s assets is that it is free stone, meaning the seed is easily removed. Most of the plums you eat from the grocery store are not. It is a reliable bearer.
And here is the best part of all. It is resistant to Black Knot, the disease that wipes out so many of our Garrett County plums.
Long John has a sweet-tart flavor, and it is great for fresh eating, cooking, canning (prunes), and of course drying. The fruit is large in size, and the flesh is an amber color.
We put your Long John plum tree on the most cold-hardy rootstock available, so not only is Long John cold-hardy to 30 below, so is its rootstock. This particular rootstock is great for heavy clay soils. It will also grow in any soils that are not sandy. But if you have sandy soil, you will want to buy Kenmore or Bluebyrd.
The tree will grow to be 15′ to 20′ tall.
Long John is self-fertile, however it will bear more fruit with a pollinator. You can use either Bluebyrd or Kenmore to pollinate.
