Prunus domestica Monsieur Jaune - Common plum

The 'Monsieur Jaune' Organic Plum Tree is an old, vigorous, hardy, and highly productive variety. It produces a medium-sized fruit, with an ovoid and elongated shape, smooth golden-yellow skin, washed and speckled with purple on the sunny side. Its yellow flesh is tender, juicy, sweet, delicately acidic, and highly aromatic. The stone easily separates from the pulp. Harvesting takes place in August, and the fruits are consumed as they ripen. It is a pleasant fruit to enjoy fresh, cooked in numerous sweet recipes, or preserved. This variety is partially self-fertile and requires the presence of other plum tree varieties nearby to increase fruit production.

Prunus domestica (Common Plum) is a fruit tree belonging to the Rosaceae family, just like the apricot tree, almond tree, and peach tree. It originates from Syria, where it sometimes grows up to 1000 metres (3281 feet) in altitude. The plum tree was introduced to France during the Middle Ages, and it was during the Renaissance that it experienced its development and spread across the territory. The 'Monsieur Jaune' variety was selected in 1845 in Ollainville, near Arpajon, in the Paris region, by Mr. Jacquin, a horticulturist-nurseryman. It is probably derived from a seedling of 'Reine Claude Dorée' or 'Prune Monsieur'.

The 'Monsieur Jaune' Plum Tree forms a fruit tree with a fairly rounded framework that can reach a final height of about 5 metres (16 feet), producing numerous branches grouped in spreading canopies. Its habit is well suited to free forms on tall, half, or low stems. Its deciduous foliage is composed of obovate leaves, 6 to 8cm (2 to 3in) long, with serrated edges, slightly pubescent on the underside, and dark green. Around the end of March, beginning of April, the white flowers, 1.5 to 2.5cm (1in) in diameter, appear solitarily before the leaves on the previous year's branches. The flowering is sensitive to spring frosts, but it is so abundant that frost rarely affects the harvest. It is a decorative flowering in spring, and particularly attractive to bees and nectar-feeding insects. It is a hardy tree down to -20°C (-4°F). This Plum Tree is said to be self-sterile or self-incompatible, meaning the flowers cannot fertilize themselves. That's why the presence of other plum tree varieties, nearby and flowering at the same time, is necessary. For example, the varieties 'Reine-claude Dorée', 'Reine-claude d'Oullins', 'Quetsche d'Alsace', 'Quetsche d'Italie', 'Mirabelle de Metz', 'Mirabelle de Nancy', and 'Victoria' are suitable for cross-pollination, thus increasing fruit production.

The 'Monsieur Jaune' Plum Tree is a fertile variety that bears fruit quickly. The fruits are harvested throughout the month of August as they ripen. Since plums are quite fragile, they are harvested using a picking pole or manually with a ladder, but always with delicacy. On average, one plum tree produces between 25 and 50 kilograms of fruit per year. The fruits can be consumed immediately after harvesting. They are medium-sized plums, ovoid and elongated in shape, measuring 3 to 5cm (1 to 2in) in length and 2.5 to 3.5cm (1in) in diameter, with thin and delicate skin, golden-yellow, and dotted with pink on the sunny side. The yellow flesh is tender, juicy, sweet, and pleasantly aromatic. Delicious and delightful, plums can be consumed fresh, eaten raw or in desserts. They are also exquisite in cakes or tarts and excellent for making jams, compotes, or preserves.

Plums are a light and balancing fruit. Low in calories, they are rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium, with a significant iron content. Their vitamin C, B, E, and K content, phenolic antioxidants, and fibre make plums a healthy asset. They are invigorating, energizing, and rehydrating. The fruits can only be stored for a few days at room temperature. However, they can be frozen once washed, dried, and pitted, or preserved in jams or syrup.

In the Plum Trees - Mirabelles category, the Prunus domestica 'Monsieur Jaune' is a vigorous, hardy, highly productive, and very fertile variety, renowned for the delicious quality of its fruits. In favourable conditions, it is easy to cultivate, generous in fruit production, and resistant to diseases. Extremely popular thanks to its fruits, the plum tree finds its rightful place in the garden for the pleasure of young and old alike. With a wide range of varieties, it is easy to find the one that best suits your desires.