Contents
Plum Blue Free is an American variety that has average characteristics in terms of transportability, harvest time. Medium-sized fruits are sweet, dense, like a summer resident or farmer. Care for Blue Free is especially distinguished – the older the tree, the more worries with it.
History of variety breeding
American selectors have created an amazing variety of BlueFree plums, which was the result of crossing Stanley and President. At the end of the last century, the Blue Free plum began to be imported to the CIS countries, after which it was entered into the Register of Varieties of Ukraine in 1994. It is acceptable to grow BlueFree plums in the Central Black Earth region, where there is a lot of groundwater, moisture and heat.
The variety of this plum is immune to heat, but not very resistant to frost. It tolerates the cold of the middle latitudes quite well, but the crop cannot be stored for a long time. From this, the demand for Blue Free is small, since it is impossible to create conditions for transportation.
For private traders, the Blue Free plum is suitable as an orchard tree. She loves calm weather, is immune to serious diseases, does not require much attention and care.
Description of the Blue Free plum variety
The BlueFree plum variety has a rare type of crown. It is oval in shape, the height of an adult Blue Free plum reaches almost 2 meters. Self-fertile, needs only one of the pollinating varieties. BlueFree fruits ripen quickly, which is an advantage for many gardeners. The harvest begins to bring already by 3-4 years of life, although every year it is only more and more. The cold of the Blue Free plum is not terrible.
Plums have a mass of 80 g, which is considered a rather large fruit. They are oval in shape, but wide enough, and the color includes purple and black shades. There are also subcutaneous points that are scattered over the fruits in a chaotic manner. The wax coating is very dense – to get rid of it, you need to wash the fruit several times, rubbing it well.
Inside, the BlueFree plum variety is distinguished by a soft and delicate filling – sweet, juicy and very tasty. For this, both adults and children love her. In the open air, the color practically does not change, which indicates the absence of acids and metals. The stone is small, easily moves away from the pulp. In early autumn, you can expect the first fruits that ripen until the end of September. The BlueFree plum is resistant to diseases and pests, as well as to frost or drought. There are no diseases of the bark, wood. Fungal infections never appear on the BlueFree variety.
From one tree of the Blue Free variety, you can harvest about 100 kg of crop – not very much, since the fruits themselves are large and massive. Although the shape is asymmetric, the score for the variety was 4,6 points. The dessert taste of the BlueFree variety attracts not only domestic summer residents, but also citizens of overseas countries. There is a kind of acidity. Most often you can find it in countries with a temperate climate. Plum Blue Free in the middle lane grows better, although it is immune to cold.
Characteristics of a variety
Gardeners love the BlueFree plum variety for its benefits and ease of care. Of course, there are pitfalls, as the difficulty lies in maintaining the plum variety. At the time of fruiting, the crown weakens. And in order for it to continue to bear fruit, farmers cut the branches so that two-year-old shoots remain. In addition, for a larger harvest, summer residents plant varieties of plums Opal, President, Stanley or Anna Shpet.
Where there is a hot summer and a minimum of rain, the plum ripens quickly – in a week, but the main thing is that the crop does not spoil the branches. Plum BlueFree in the Moscow region will also grow well, especially on the south side. Winds are not terrible, but it is better to avoid them.
Drought resistance, frost resistance
The BlueFree plum variety has good commercial qualities. For transportation, it is enough to create a comfortable temperature. It will keep in the fridge for several months without spoiling. It is advisable to put on the bottom shelf.
It is preferable to choose warm areas in the garden for growing, but in winter the BlueFree variety will not freeze. It does not require additional insulation during frost, which is convenient for mass planting.
Plum pollinators
The BlueFree variety is self-fertile, so you need to plant Vision, President, Opal, Stanley, Empress, Rush or Verita next to the plum. The more pollinators, the higher the next year’s harvest.
Yield and fruiting
The yield of BlueFree depends on the time of planting and pollinators. The more of them next to the Blue Free plum, the greater the chance of getting a big harvest. Homemade plum BlueFree loves top dressing.
Scope of berries
Blue Free is a plum variety that is suitable for the production of prunes, dryers, and canned food. Transportation and storage is allowed. This is a universal variety that is convenient to use for home purposes (comotes, jams, freezing) and industrial – products canned in their own juice, dried fruits and preparations.
Disease and pest resistance
Homemade blue free plum never gets sick, but prevention is required to protect against weeds and rodents. There is also a need for top dressing so that the yield is better in terms of characteristics.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Among the disadvantages of Blue Free, one can single out the need for constant pruning of the crown to increase the growth of new branches and yield, respectively. The advantages here are obvious – large sweet fruits of high quality, unpretentiousness to weather phenomena.
Planting and caring for a BlueFree plum
Plum Blue Free needs care before and after planting. To properly carry out the planting process, you need to be guided by the rules. Then you can hope for the best result after 3 years at least.
Recommended dates
It is best to plant the BlueFree Plum in the fall, when October comes, but there are no frosts yet. If the cold has come, the landing is postponed to spring, when the thaw period has passed.
Choosing the right place
The soil for Blue Free must be fertile and with groundwater. This is a feature of Blue Free plums. The rootstock is necessary because of the tree’s growth, as it tolerates both heat and cold. The feeding zone is in the range of 4-6 m for mature trees, and for semi-dwarf trees it is enough to create a 3-4 m plot.
What crops can and cannot be planted nearby
It is advisable to avoid plum varieties other than pollinators near Blue Free. You can limit yourself to only two varieties, if desired.
Selection and preparation of planting material
If the pits are not prepared in the fall, the digging algorithm is carried out in the spring. For this you need:
- Clear the land of weeds.
- Fill the bottoms of the pits with warm earth for warming up.
- The dimensions of each seat are 60 x 70 cm.
- Barren land requires preparation.
You can fertilize the soil for Blue Free with wood ash, humus, compost. Mixing of all substances is allowed for uniform feeding of the tree. Substitute elements are superphosphates and potassium salt in a ratio of 1: 1 in the amount of 1-2 tablespoons. This is enough for a seedling for 4 years.
Landing algorithm
After planting the Blue Free plum seedlings, the ditch is covered with soil. Damaged branches and roots are cut off so that they do not get burned. After that, you need to trample the ground with your foot so that the toe looks towards the trunk. Further, a hole is formed from the “rollers” of the earth, where water is poured. It is necessary to prepare about 50 liters of water, 3-4 buckets for each tree. The hole should be mulched, that is, be covered with peat or humus. A layer up to 12 cm is quite acceptable for a BlueFree plum.
This way the soil will not dry out in the heat and the tree will not need additional watering. If trees are vaccinated, then the place should be 15 cm above the soil level.
Plum Aftercare
In winter, seedlings do not need to be watered, only pruned. It is carried out without fail by removing unwanted branches. Shoots are damaged, deteriorate – they need to be removed from the tree. In the spring, loosening of the earth is carried out – a place is dug up around the seedlings over the next 2 years. Weeding is also necessary.
Crown formation at the Blue Free plum
The crown of young trees is formed within 2-3 years. This event is held every season, especially in spring. It is necessary to carefully remove dry shoots from the BlueFree plum variety, to create a round crown. If the temperature in spring (in May) is below +10 0C, sap flow stops, which means a transplant is required.
Diseases and pests, methods of control and prevention
Plum variety BlueFree is immune to diseases and pests. There is no need to treat the tree with preparations or protect it from rodents and pests in the garden.
Conclusion
Plum Blue Free is a combination of unpretentiousness and quality of fruits, which become more and more with each fruitful year. If the trees are watered correctly, the Blue Free variety will not only produce consistently, but will also increase the size of the fruit by 10-20%.
