TODAY IN THE ORCHARD

Today we picked all the Purple Heart plums. This is our favorite plum. It is delectable fresh eating. The fruit size is medium-large, the shape is round, the reddish-purple skin is not too sour, the flesh is dark glistening red. Oh what a great plum!
No one knows the origin of Purple Heart, and no one has figured out the pedigree. There is, however, an interesting story behind it. Evidently an unidentified tree or scion was brought to the great New Hampshire plant breeder Elwin Meader eighty years ago or so. Meader had not seen or tried the fruit, but he consented to plant a tree. When the the tree fruited, Meader instantly knew it was fantastic. He attempted to track down the fellow who had brought it to him, but by then the fellow had died. Meader named it Purple Heart for its purple-red flesh and introduced it. Although adored by connoisseurs, Purple Heart has never gained much popularity with commercial growers. Commercial plums aren’t grown much in the eastern US, and Purple Heart is a finicky grower, not particularly productive and would probably ship about as well as an heirloom tomato.
Purple Heart is of an unknown species. It may be a complex hybrid cross of native North American and Asian species. Its pollination requirements are unknown. With ours, we “covered all the bases.” Nearby our Purple Heart tree we have also planted Prunus ussuriensis, Prunus nigra and the complex “Black Ice”. One of them is providing the dust. At some point, perhaps, someone will DNA profile it and determine its pedigree. Until then, it’s just Purple Heart, this amazingly delicious August plum. Someday we should plant a bunch of seeds and see what we get.