All about apples, pears, plums, and cherries - and orchards where they are grown

Opal plum

Opal is probably the best-flavoured early plum variety - indeed it is sometimes called a gage-like plum thanks to the excellence of its flavour.  It demonstrates (along with Ariel) that crossing a gage with plum can improve the gage-like flavour.

However the flavour depends crucially on developing sugars during the short growing period, and in the UK and northern Europe Opal really benefits from being grown against a south-facing wall or in a sunny aspect.  In less favourable situations it will still give good crops but the flavour may be bland.

The fruit is medium-sized, coloured dusky red with a heavy bloom, becoming blue when overripe.  The fruit is at its best just before the colour changes to blue.  The plums ripen over a period of about 1-2 weeks, so you don't have to deal with a glut.  The flesh is straw-yellow and fairly juicy.  Opal is a free-stone plum - the stone falls away easily from the flesh.  If picked on a warm July day and placed in a fruit bowl Opal also has a wonderful aroma.

Recommended because it is easy to grow in a variety of climates and provides good quality plums early in the season - but to get the full flavour it is essential to thin the crop, and to plant in a sunny aspect.

USDA identification images for Opal

The identification paintings in the USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection span the years 1886 to 1942.

    Citation: U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection. Rare and Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD 20705.

    Parents and other ancestors of this variety


    Visitor reviews

    • 17 Aug 2013  United Kingdom
      A very good early plum, moderately heavy crop this year. Gage genes definitely show through in the flavour. Not as badly affected by brown rot as some
    • 21 Oct 2012  EDINBURGH, United Kingdom
      Had this in the garden for 4 years and the fruit just doesn't seem to ripen here. I've just picked the few plums we have and it's 20th october and they are still hard! I'm afraid I'm going to have to take it out. I used to have a Victoria which was fantastic, will stick to that if I decide to plant another in the future.
    • 09 Aug 2011  HAMPSHIRE, United Kingdom
      I bought a tree 2 years ago, and it has just produced its first fruit. They are dark purple and fall off while still hard; after being in a bowl with some bananas they are just about edible, but are still rather tart and don't have a nice flavour at all - not what I was expecting. I am very disappointed.
    • 23 Sep 2010  IDAHO, United States
      I've grown Opal for 17 years--in Washington State, Minnesota, and now Idaho. Fruit can keep up to a month, in my experience. Ripening date was about July 28 in WA State, about Aug. 2 in MN, about July 25 here. The tree is very precocious. It's one of the very few European plums that will survive and ripen in Anchorage, Alaska where it ripens about Sept. 4 on the average. The tree is fully hardy at -33F, will be injured at -40F but bounces back well from cold injury. Tree has a dense, round head. One minor drawback is its tendency to grow current season growth with very narrow angles between the shoots. It's an excellent plum for the early market, and I'm very fond of it; and it can easily be dried as well.

    Tree register

    United Kingdom

    Denmark

    Ireland

    Italy

    • Sarah in Fiesole, TUSCANY

    Netherlands

    Poland

    Spring blossom records for this variety

    2014 season

    • 26th April  2014  - tree owned by Hanne in Copenhagen, Denmark

    2013 season

    • 28th April  2013  - tree owned by Richard in York, United Kingdom

    2012 season

    • 7th April  2012  - tree owned by Karel in Alem, Netherlands
    • 30th March  2012  - tree owned by Roy in Coventry, United Kingdom
    • 28th March  2012  - tree owned by Mrs Tri in Redditch, United Kingdom
    • 28th March  2012  - tree owned by Simon in Duleek, Ireland
    • 26th March  2012  - tree owned by Richard in York, United Kingdom

    2011 season

    • May  2011  - tree owned by Hanne in Copenhagen, Denmark
    • 9th April  2011  - tree owned by Dan in Uxbridge, United Kingdom
    • 5th April  2011  - tree owned by Karel in Alem, Netherlands
    • 4th April  2011  - tree owned by Richard in York, United Kingdom
    • 26th March  2011  - tree owned by Roy in Coventry, United Kingdom

    2010 season

    • 24th April  2010  - tree owned by Richard in York, United Kingdom

    Record your blossom dates in our Fruit Tree Register - more >>.


    Harvest records for this variety

    2017 season

    • 4th week June  2017  - tree owned by Brian in Burgess Hill, United Kingdom

    2013 season

    • 3rd week August  2013  - tree owned by Richard in York, United Kingdom

    2012 season

    • 3rd week July  2012  - tree owned by Richard in York, United Kingdom

    2011 season

    • 3rd week August  2011  - tree owned by Roy in Coventry, United Kingdom
    • 1st week August  2011  - tree owned by Hanne in Copenhagen, Denmark
    • 1st week August  2011  - tree owned by Ute in Kilfenora, Ireland
    • 3rd week July  2011  - tree owned by Richard in York, United Kingdom
    • 2nd week July  2011  - tree owned by Karel in Alem, Netherlands

    Origins

    • Species: Prunus domestica
    • Parentage: Oullins Gage and Early Favourite
    • Introduced: 1925
    • Developed by: Horticultural Research Station, Alnarp

    Using

    • Picking season: Early Late July
    • Cropping: Heavy
    • Keeping (of fruit): 1-3 days
    • Food uses: Eating fresh

    Growing

    • Attractive features: Attractive fruit
    • Self-fertility: Self-fertile
    • Flowering group: 3
    • Bearing regularity: Regular
    • Organic culture: Suitable

    Climate

    • Cold hardiness (USDA): (4) -30F / -34C
    • Cold hardiness (RHS): H6 (to -20C)
    • Summer average maximum temperatures: Cold (< 20C / 67F)
    • Summer average maximum temperatures: Cool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)
    • Summer average maximum temperatures: Warm (25-30C / 76-85F)

    Identification

    • Country of origin: Sweden
    • Period of origin: 1900 - 1949
    • Flower colour: White
    • Leaf colour: Green
    • Fruit colour: Red

    Where to buy fresh fruit

    The following orchards grow Opal:

    United States


    United Kingdom




    References

    • Fruit Expert
      Author: Hessayon

    Varieties you viewed


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