Hi John,
This sounds perfectly normal for a Victoria Plum. Until two years ago, we
had a great tree which fruited itself to death. It became too tall to
thin
out the fruit and, despite attempts to support the branches, three major
branches snapped under the weight. Subsequently Silver Leaf Disease set
in,
ergo no more tree. I am now waiting for a fan-trained Vic Plum to develop
before allowing it to fruit.

It may be that the smaller, inedible fruits were aborted by the tree to
save
itself from over-cropping, but did not fall with the usual June drop.
Just
a guess. Your most important concerns now are making sure there are no
bad
fruit left on the tree and, next year, to support weighted branches to
prevent breakage and the onset of disease. Also, it wouldn't be a bad
idea
to give it a feed now with tomato fertiliser to 'thank' it for its efforts
and to replenish it's potassium reserves. This will also help to harden
it
off for winter.

Spider

Thanks for the information.

I lost half the tree about 12 years ago due to a heavy crop and no supports.
I treated the bare wood and it survived ok. Plenty of supports and thinning
this year - I like unripe plums better than fully ripe ones.

Any ideas about the conjoined fruits?

John


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.676 / Virus Database: 438 - Release Date: 03/05/04