How to grow a plum from a bone?

Many gardeners are interested in whether it is possible to grow a fruit-bearing plum tree from a bone, and how to grow a plum from a bone.

Reproduction of plum bones is really possible, but only the Ussuri, Chinese, Canadian and Far Eastern plums will bear fruit from the trees obtained in this way. Other varieties can produce either very small fruits, or they can not bear fruit at all.

How to plant a plum bone?

Some important tips:

1. Before growing the plum bone, it is placed on a damp cloth for a couple of weeks. The plum bones are very dense, and if you bypass this procedure, the shoots will not appear.
2. Plant bones in autumn in the open ground. But in this case, they will need to be protected from rodents who dig up and destroy them. It is best to place the stone in the nutrient mixture in a pot (or box).
3. Until the bone is allowed to shoot (usually 40-50 days), the soil should be kept moist. In some bones, there are two seeds, so do not be surprised if more seedlings grow than the seed was planted.
4. If the bones were grown in pots, then in the open ground they will need to be transplanted no earlier than one year after the appearance of seedlings, early autumn or spring. We need to prepare a pit: fill them with compost, add sand. Plum is transplanted into a pit, together with the land in which it grew, so as not to damage the roots.
5. If the bones were planted in the open ground, then after the first winter, less than half of the seedlings may remain, since the weakest and the most unstable to frost will simply perish. After the second year of winter, only the strongest seedlings will remain.
6. Care for the plum means maintaining the optimum moisture level (60-65%), cutting weak shoots, weeding, loosening of the soil and watering.
7. Cultivation of the plum from the bone will take about 3-4 years, but the tree will only begin to bear fruit for 5-6 years. Every year the fruits will be larger, so do not be disappointed if the first plums are shallow.

The first stages of planting plums with a bone can be carried out at home, using an ordinary pot for plants. Care for the plum does not require special skills. The only mistake that novice gardeners allow is the tearing of weak seedlings from the ground. If other plums are planted nearby, it is possible to damage their root system. That is why the weak seedlings are advised to be cut off.