Essential Citrus Collection

This Self-fertile Duo of Half-Standard Queen Claude Plum Trees brings together the varieties Golden Queen Claude, with round and golden fruits of excellent taste, and Bavay Queen Claude, very productive and an excellent pollinator, which produces large yellow-green plums that are very sweet. Planted in the same garden, these two plum trees pollinate each other, ensuring an abundant and delicious harvest from mid-August to mid-September.

This duo consists of:

- x1 'Golden Queen Claude': a variety that has been introduced a long time ago in the southwest, easy to grow, renowned for the taste of its large round plums. The tree can reach a height of 8m (26ft). Its fruits ripen around mid-August, they are round and measure about 4cm (2in) in diameter. They have a thin skin, greenish-yellow, with a golden side where the plum receives sunlight. The flesh, pale yellow, is juicy, sweet, and aromatic: it is of excellent taste. A very good pollinating variety, the Golden Reine Claude is not self-fertile and requires the presence of another plum tree to fruit satisfactorily. It is slightly sensitive to fruit splitting before ripening but without brown rot. This plum tree is tolerant to Bark-Split (Bark Splitting Disease) and withstands handling and transportation well.

- x1 'Bavay Queen Claude': a fairly vigorous variety (7m (23ft) tall), very productive, with quick and regular fruiting. It produces large round fruits, firm, juicy, sweet, and fragrant, with a yellow-green color. Harvesting begins around mid-September. This plum tree is self-fertile and resistant to diseases. A very good pollinator, it is, however, sensitive to very cold climates, as its flowering is quite early, in mid-March.

Labeled separately, in 12/15 Litre pots.

The original area of plum trees is believed to be Syria, not China. During the Roman hegemony over the region, various local fruits including plums were introduced to Rome. These fruit trees have a free and spreading habit. When well pruned, it is easy to harvest. It requires little care and maintenance thanks to the natural openness of its branches. It thrives in full sun or partial shade and grows in any type of rich, moist, deep, even heavy but non-calcareous soil.

Its deciduous leaves are oval, almost oblong, with toothed edges and slightly pubescent. They fall in autumn. Flowering takes place in March or April, depending on the varieties. The tree is then completely covered with white flowers that appear on the leafless branches of the previous year. They are not self-fertile in most cultivated varieties. Therefore, it is necessary to plant another plum tree nearby to obtain more abundant fruit or harvests.

Plums are consumed raw at the base of the tree, in fruit salads, but also in desserts, pastries, as accompaniment to meats and other dishes. They are transformed into jams, of course, but also into syrup-soaked fruits, compotes etc. They are also used to make brandy.

A half-standard fruit tree is composed of a trunk with a branch attached to it, measuring only between 1.20 and 1.50m (4 and 5ft) in height. The branches are also slightly shorter.