Japanese Plum Trees
Japanese Plum Trees
Prunus salicina
Japanese plums tend to be on the sweeter side and are excellent for fresh eating. They are best straight off the tree but can also be used to make sauce. We love when our Japanese plums bloom in the orchard, covering the trees in white flowers! Some Japanese plums are self-pollinating while others require another variety for pollination. Japanese plums require other Japanese plums or hybrid plums for pollination, they will not cross-pollinate with European plums.
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10 products
History: Brookgold was developed at the Crop Diversification Centre South in Brooks, Alberta and was named for the town and its golden colour. It was introduced in 1979.
Why We Grow It: Brookgold, like other fruit varieties developed in the prairies, is very cold hardy! Although there is sometimes a trade-off between cold hardiness and fruit quality, this variety still produces small yellow freestone plums that are very sweet, making them great for fresh eating and good for canning and preserving.
History: Burbank plums were introduced to the West by Luther Burbank, "The Wizard of Horticulture." He grew them from Japanese seedlings he received in 1885 and the variety was named after him, so, somewhat confusingly, they are actually a Japanese plum despite the English name. The variety was introduced commercially in 1897.
Why We Grow It: Burbank plums are lovely with colours ranging from yellow skin and red blush to a dark purplish red. These clingstone plums have good flavour and firm flesh, great for fresh eating, canning, or making into jelly.
2025 Staff Favourite
Early Golden Japanese plums are Jill's favourite this year! Jill has this to say: “The flavour reminds me of a peach, making it plum delicious and me peachy keen about it!”
All Staff Favourites are 20% off. The Staff Favourite Discount cannot be combined with other quantity discounts.
History: Early Golden originated in Fonthill, Ontario where it was discovered as a chance seedling. It has since become the most popular yellow plum in Ontario. Despite its Canadian origin, this is actually a Japanese plum.
Why We Grow It: Early Golden is a very popular Japanese freestone plum. The medium-sized fruit is very sweet with tangy yellow skin that gets a cheery red blush where the sun hits it. Medium-sized. The tree is vigorous and has a low susceptibility to black knot, although it requires careful thinning or else it will tend to bear crops every other year.
Available only for pick-up at nursery.
History: Brookgold was developed at the Crop Diversification Centre South in Brooks, Alberta and was named for the town and its golden colour. It was introduced in 1979.
Why We Grow It: Brookgold, like other fruit varieties developed in the prairies, is very cold hardy! Although there is sometimes a trade-off between cold hardiness and fruit quality, this variety still produces small yellow freestone plums that are very sweet, making them great for fresh eating and good for canning and preserving.
Available only for pick-up at nursery.
Species: Prunus sp
History: These seedlings are grown from plum seeds collected from our orchard and a Niagara orchard.
Why We Grow It: Since plums tend to stay true to type more than apples, these seedlings will likely bear a strong resemblance to their parents. For more information on each, check out the respective product pages for their parent varieties! If you prefer the certainty of named varieties, these seedlings would also be good for feeding wildlife or planting along fence lines.
Available only for pick-up at nursery.
History: Toka is a hybrid of an American plum (Prunus americana) and a Japanese plum (Prunus salicina) that was created by Dr. N.E. Hansen who is known for his extensive career in developing cold hardy plant varieties. He developed Toka at the South Dakota Experiment Station and introduced it in 1911. It is unclear what 'Toka' translates to in English but 'toka' can mean 'etc/among other things' or 'river crossing' in Japanese
Why We Grow It: Toka is also known as Bubblegum plum due to its flavour and smell which bears an uncanny resemblance to bubblegum. These plums are incredibly aromatic, and will fill your kitchen with their perfumed scent as they sit out to ripen. The semi-clingstone fruit features deep red skin and bright yellow flesh that is firm but juicy. It is good for fresh eating or preserving.
History: Shiro plums (translated from Japanese as 'white') were developed in California and introduced in 1899. They were bred by horticulturalist Luther Burbank who is renowned for his extensive experimentation with creating new plum varieties. Shiro plums are most commonly grown in the United States and Canada.
Why We Grow It: This early Japanese clingstone variety has yellow skin and flesh that is juicy and sweet. The fruit keeps longer than most plums, lasting two to four weeks, and the tree is known for its compact growth and heavy crops.
Species: Prunus sp
History: These seedlings are grown from Shiro plum seeds collected from our orchard and a Niagara orchard. Shiro plums (translated from Japanese as 'white') were developed in California and introduced in 1899.
Why We Grow It: Seedling fruit trees are a great way to add some diversity and mystery to your garden or orchard! The parent variety, Shiro, has yellow skin and flesh that is juicy and sweet.
Please Note: Since plums tend to stay true to type more than apples, these seedlings will likely bear a strong resemblance to their parent variety. However, any specific information listed on this page should be taken with a grain of salt as there may be some variation from the parent tree.
History: Toka is a hybrid of an American plum (Prunus americana) and a Japanese plum (Prunus salicina) that was created by Dr. N.E. Hansen who is known for his extensive career in developing cold hardy plant varieties. He developed Toka at the South Dakota Experiment Station and introduced it in 1911. It is unclear what 'Toka' translates to in English but 'toka' can mean 'etc/among other things' or 'river crossing' in Japanese
Why We Grow It: Toka is also known as Bubblegum plum due to its flavour and smell which bears an uncanny resemblance to bubblegum. These plums are incredibly aromatic, and will fill your kitchen with their perfumed scent as they sit out to ripen. The semi-clingstone fruit features deep red skin and bright yellow flesh that is firm but juicy. It is good for fresh eating or preserving.
History: Waneta is a hybrid of Japanese plums (Prunus salicina) and American plums (Prunus americana) developed at the South Dakota Experimental Station by NE Hansen and introduced in 1913. It was developed at a time when hybrid plums were more important as a commercial crop. It was named after a Yanktonai man who played a prominent role in the War of 1812 and later became chief.
Why We Grow It: Waneta is a juicy and sweet clingstone plum with tart red skin. The flesh is a yellowish colour. The tree naturally stays a little smaller and has good crops, paired with decent cold hardiness.