Pollinator Duo of colourful Goblet-shaped Queen Claudes

This Self-fertile Duo of Coloured Queen Claude Plums in a Goblet Shape brings together the excellent varieties 'Golden Queen Claude' (or green) with round and golden fruits renowned for their flavour, and 'Queen Claude of Oullins', which produces round plums, canary yellow with a touch of pink, mainly used for preserving, ripening from mid-July. When planted in the same garden, these two plum trees pollinate each other, ensuring an abundant harvest that extends from mid-July to the end of August.

This duo consists of:

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

- x1 'Queen Claude of Oullins': an early, vigorous, highly fertile, and hardy variety. Its fruits ripen from mid-July to August, offering a spread-out harvest. They are spherical, 4 to 4.5 cm (2in) in diameter, with a thin skin that is canary yellow tinged with pink when ripe. The green-yellow flesh is semi-firm, semi-tender, sweet, and aromatic. These fruits are mainly consumed in preserves and jams. Self-fertile, it is a very good pollinating variety for all other plum trees. It is resistant to moniliasis, and its fruits do not drop when ripe (suitable for windy areas).

Individually labelled, in 7.5/10 Litre pots

The original area of plum trees is said to be Syria, not China. During the Roman hegemony over the region, various local fruits including plums were introduced to Rome. This fruit tree has a free and spreading habit. Properly pruned, it will be easy to harvest. It requires little care and maintenance thanks to the natural shape of its branches. It prefers sun or partial shade and grows in any type of rich, moist, deep soil, even heavy but not calcareous.

Its deciduous leaves are ovate, almost oblong, serrated-dentate, and slightly pubescent. They fall in autumn. Flowering occurs in March or April depending on the varieties. The tree is then covered with white flowers that appear on the leafless branches of the previous year. They are not self-fertile in most cultivated varieties. It is therefore necessary to plant another plum tree nearby to obtain fruits or more abundant harvests.

Plums are consumed raw at the foot of the tree, in fruit salads, but also in desserts, pastries, as accompaniments to meats and dishes. They are transformed into jams, of course, but also into syrups, compotes... They can also be used to make eau-de-vie.

A goblet-trained fruit tree does not have a central leader (vertical main stem), but branches radiating from its trunk. This particular shape allows for good penetration of sunlight and air into the canopy, promoting fruit development and ripening while limiting the development of diseases.