About the Italian Plum Tree
The Italian Plum tree is famous worldwide for its reliability in producing an enormous crop of dark purple, medium-sized plums that are high in sugar content and often used for the commercial production of prunes. This plant goes by a wide variety of names including Italian Prune, Italian Prune Plum, and Fellenberg Plum.
It is a European Plum variety, prunus domestica ‘Italian,’ that is popular in home orchards throughout the country. This stone fruit has smooth, purple skin with a dusting of powdery blue. Its flesh is a semi-firm, golden yellow and has a rich blend of sweetness with a lemon-tart edge that sets it apart from the common taste of other plums.
This lovely fruit tree features a spring bloom of showy pinkish white blossoms. Plums ripen in late summer to fall, typically August or September.
Using the Fruit
Italian Plums are freestone, meaning they are easy to remove from the pit. Their fruit is firmer than most other plums, making them perfect to use in cooking. Italian Plums are prized in German cooking, where they are used to make plum cake, dumplings, and tarts. The yellow flesh turns a rich, dark pink when cooked.
Italian plums are perfect for making juice and jams. With their high sugar content, they are enjoyable to eat fresh, use for cooking, or drying into prunes. Enjoy making a wide variety of dishes using these plums, from plum sorbet to roasting with pork or lamb.
Plums are a good source of fiber and contain potassium and vitamins A, C, and K.
Growing Italian Plum Trees
These fruit trees need full sun, and they are self-pollinating. They are vigorous and cold-hardy. It is considered an easy tree to get established and can begin bearing fruit from between three to six years. Italian Plum trees should be pruned annually to bear better fruit.
Buy an easy to grow Italian Plum tree to enjoy delicious, sweet plums!
