Damson Trees?
 

Hi,
I'm not that good at gardening and especially at identifying species of
anything. We moved into our house nearly 20 years ago and have a fairly
large garden with a wildish bit over the fence at the bottom. There is a row
of trees there that have simply seemed a nuisance and we constantly cut
back. Mini trees crop up all over the garden that have similar leaves so we
have blamed the rogues at the bottom.
Last year, for the first time, it had a crop of what seemed to be damsons. I
looked up pictures and all seemed to point to me being right. I made several
pots of jam which I've yet to try.
This year, no crop again and I'm starting to worry about whether they really
are damson trees. If they are, it's unusual behaviour to fruit every 20
years?!?!? Not much money in that for growers. If not, what could they be
and is the jam safe to eat? I was looking forward to it.

Damson Trees?
 

My damson tree was covered in fruit last year but we've not had any
flowers/fruit at all this year either.
Mel.

"Joan Edington" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm not that good at gardening and especially at identifying species of
anything. We moved into our house nearly 20 years ago and have a fairly
large garden with a wildish bit over the fence at the bottom. There is a
row of trees there that have simply seemed a nuisance and we constantly
cut back. Mini trees crop up all over the garden that have similar leaves
so we have blamed the rogues at the bottom.
Last year, for the first time, it had a crop of what seemed to be damsons.
I looked up pictures and all seemed to point to me being right. I made
several pots of jam which I've yet to try.
This year, no crop again and I'm starting to worry about whether they
really are damson trees. If they are, it's unusual behaviour to fruit
every 20 years?!?!? Not much money in that for growers. If not, what
could they be and is the jam safe to eat? I was looking forward to it.

Damson Trees?
 

"Joan Edington" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm not that good at gardening and especially at identifying species of
anything. We moved into our house nearly 20 years ago and have a fairly
large garden with a wildish bit over the fence at the bottom. There is a
row of trees there that have simply seemed a nuisance and we constantly
cut back. Mini trees crop up all over the garden that have similar leaves
so we have blamed the rogues at the bottom.
Last year, for the first time, it had a crop of what seemed to be damsons.
I looked up pictures and all seemed to point to me being right. I made
several pots of jam which I've yet to try.
This year, no crop again and I'm starting to worry about whether they
really are damson trees. If they are, it's unusual behaviour to fruit
every 20 years?!?!? Not much money in that for growers. If not, what
could they be and is the jam safe to eat? I was looking forward to it.

Eat the jam. You've waited long enough for it :-)

Mary

Damson Trees?
 

The message
from "Joan Edington" contains these words:

I'm not that good at gardening and especially at identifying species of
anything. We moved into our house nearly 20 years ago and have a fairly
large garden with a wildish bit over the fence at the bottom. There is
a row
of trees there that have simply seemed a nuisance and we constantly cut
back. Mini trees crop up all over the garden that have similar leaves so we
have blamed the rogues at the bottom.
Last year, for the first time, it had a crop of what seemed to be
damsons. I
looked up pictures and all seemed to point to me being right. I made
several
pots of jam which I've yet to try.
This year, no crop again and I'm starting to worry about whether they
really
are damson trees. If they are, it's unusual behaviour to fruit every 20
years?!?!? Not much money in that for growers. If not, what could they be
and is the jam safe to eat? I was looking forward to it.

Probably bullaces, which flower earlier, and thus get frosted, as well
as having less chance of insect pollination.

Otherwise, there's not a lot of difference between bullaces and damsons
- er - except that bullaces are much more prone to suckering...

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Damson Trees?
 

The message
from "Mary Fisher" contains these words:
"Joan Edington" wrote in message
...

Hi,
I'm not that good at gardening and especially at identifying species of
anything. We moved into our house nearly 20 years ago and have a fairly
large garden with a wildish bit over the fence at the bottom. There is a
row of trees there that have simply seemed a nuisance and we constantly
cut back. Mini trees crop up all over the garden that have similar leaves
so we have blamed the rogues at the bottom.
Last year, for the first time, it had a crop of what seemed to be
damsons.
I looked up pictures and all seemed to point to me being right. I made
several pots of jam which I've yet to try.
This year, no crop again and I'm starting to worry about whether they
really are damson trees. If they are, it's unusual behaviour to fruit
every 20 years?!?!? Not much money in that for growers. If not, what
could they be and is the jam safe to eat? I was looking forward to it.

Eat the jam. You've waited long enough for it :-)

Lay it down - might become a valuable vintage!

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Damson Trees?
 

"Joan Edington" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I'm not that good at gardening and especially at identifying species of
anything. We moved into our house nearly 20 years ago and have a fairly
large garden with a wildish bit over the fence at the bottom. There is a
row of trees there that have simply seemed a nuisance and we constantly
cut back. Mini trees crop up all over the garden that have similar leaves
so we have blamed the rogues at the bottom.
Last year, for the first time, it had a crop of what seemed to be damsons.
I looked up pictures and all seemed to point to me being right. I made
several pots of jam which I've yet to try.
This year, no crop again and I'm starting to worry about whether they
really are damson trees. If they are, it's unusual behaviour to fruit
every 20 years?!?!? Not much money in that for growers. If not, what
could they be and is the jam safe to eat? I was looking forward to it.


I have several damson trees which fruit every year. This year I had hardly
any as we had a late frost that took most of the blossom out.
Last year was a very good year.. they were groaning with fruit.
They don't seem to like being pruned very much so constantly cutting them
back might not help. Try leaving them alone for a while and see what
happens.
Eat your jam. There's nothing I can think of that looks like a damson that
doesn't make good jam ;-)

Damson Trees?
 

The message
from "Christina Websell" contains
these words:

There's nothing I can think of that looks like a damson that
doesn't make good jam ;-)

Even sloes make lovely jam - but care is needed: unless you sieve-out
the stones it's like eating rocky caviar, and it can be spoonbendingly
solid.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Damson Trees?
 

In article ,
Rusty Hinge 2 writes:
|
| Probably bullaces, which flower earlier, and thus get frosted, as well
| as having less chance of insect pollination.
|
| Otherwise, there's not a lot of difference between bullaces and damsons
| - er - except that bullaces are much more prone to suckering...

Botanically, there is effectively damn-all difference, except that (in
the UK) we tend to use the word bullace for the wild form and damson
for the cultivated one. And are they native or introduced? Therein
hangs a question ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Lots of people have said their damsons failed this year, but I had my best crop ever. It isn't that I didn't have the late frosts: my normal-type plum and my pears all failed with the sharp radiational frosts in April (the air temp wasn't that low). But it seems the damsons were alread well set before then, and survived the frost.

Of course many things grown as damsons aren't, they are "damson plums", ie plums that are damson-like. My mother's Merryweather (the most common variety), for instance is probably a "damson plum", and she got none this year like most other people. But mine are Farleigh, a true damson raised from a wild seedling: the fruits are sloe-sized, smaller than cherries, and my total yield off a small, slow-growing tree, totally smothered in fruit was only about 2kg. A lot better than the 400g I got last year, or 800g the year before. But it only took 1kg to make as much jam as I need, and I'll have some crumbles during the year.

Damson Trees?
 

"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "Christina Websell" contains
these words:

There's nothing I can think of that looks like a damson that
doesn't make good jam ;-)

Even sloes make lovely jam - but care is needed: unless you sieve-out
the stones it's like eating rocky caviar, and it can be spoonbendingly
solid.

I prefer to put sloes into gin ;-) and damsons too. Damson gin is good.
As is plum brandy and raspberry vodka.
I had a friend fall over outside after a few raspberry vodkas g

Damson Trees?
 

In article ,
echinosum writes:
|
| Of course many things grown as damsons aren't, they are "damson plums",
| ie plums that are damson-like.

Grrk. There really isn't any boundary between damsons and plums.

| But mine are Farleigh, a true damson
| raised from a wild seedling: the fruits are sloe-sized, smaller than
| cherries, ...

Well, I have Merryweather and Farleigh, too, and they are both about
the same size - both bantam's egg sized - so there is clearly a great
deal of variation in what is called Farleigh.

Yours sounds like a throwback; the smallest Prunus domestica that I
know of is mirabelle, and they are still larger than sloes and about
as big as cherries. Most damsons are bantam's egg sized.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Damson Trees?
 

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
echinosum writes:
|
| Of course many things grown as damsons aren't, they are "damson plums",
| ie plums that are damson-like.

Grrk. There really isn't any boundary between damsons and plums.

| But mine are Farleigh, a true damson
| raised from a wild seedling: the fruits are sloe-sized, smaller than
| cherries, ...

Well, I have Merryweather and Farleigh, too, and they are both about
the same size - both bantam's egg sized - so there is clearly a great
deal of variation in what is called Farleigh.

Yours sounds like a throwback; the smallest Prunus domestica that I
know of is mirabelle, and they are still larger than sloes and about
as big as cherries. Most damsons are bantam's egg sized.

What breed of bantam?

:-)

Mary


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Damson Trees?
 

In article ,
"Mary Fisher" writes:
|
| Yours sounds like a throwback; the smallest Prunus domestica that I
| know of is mirabelle, and they are still larger than sloes and about
| as big as cherries. Most damsons are bantam's egg sized.
|
| What breed of bantam?
|
| :-)

All right, pullet's egg sized, if you prefer :-)

I was referring to the traditional measure of size, which was fairly
standard (if completely nonsensical), not yer actual bantams ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Damson Trees?
 

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Mary Fisher" writes:
|
| Yours sounds like a throwback; the smallest Prunus domestica that I
| know of is mirabelle, and they are still larger than sloes and about
| as big as cherries. Most damsons are bantam's egg sized.
|
| What breed of bantam?
|
| :-)

All right, pullet's egg sized, if you prefer :-)

I was referring to the traditional measure of size, which was fairly
standard (if completely nonsensical), not yer actual bantams ....

Bantam eggs are smaller than standard hens' eggs but different bantam breeds
have different sized eggs. Even my two Wyandotte bantams lay different sized
eggs, the Croad Langshan bantam lays bigger eggs.

Bantams are as different in size and size of eggs as are standard breeds.

Mary




Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Damson Trees?
 

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:
In article ,
Rusty Hinge 2 writes:
|
| Probably bullaces, which flower earlier, and thus get frosted, as well
| as having less chance of insect pollination.
|
| Otherwise, there's not a lot of difference between bullaces and damsons
| - er - except that bullaces are much more prone to suckering...

Botanically, there is effectively damn-all difference, except that (in
the UK) we tend to use the word bullace for the wild form and damson
for the cultivated one. And are they native or introduced? Therein
hangs a question ....

Well, the fruit may be botanically similar, but tame damsons are often
grafted onto a rootstock with reduced suckering.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Damson Trees?
 

The message
from "Christina Websell" contains
these words:
"Rusty Hinge 2" wrote in message
k...
The message
from "Christina Websell" contains
these words:

There's nothing I can think of that looks like a damson that
doesn't make good jam ;-)

Even sloes make lovely jam - but care is needed: unless you sieve-out
the stones it's like eating rocky caviar, and it can be spoonbendingly
solid.

I prefer to put sloes into gin ;-) and damsons too. Damson gin is good.
As is plum brandy and raspberry vodka.
I had a friend fall over outside after a few raspberry vodkas g

I usually manage to pick around 20 lbs of sloes in a good year, so I can
make as much sloe gi^h^h^h^white rum as I can afford, as much jam as I
need, and still have some in the freezer for contingencies.²³¹

²³¹Usually more sloe rum.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Damson Trees?
 

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:
In article ,
echinosum writes:
|
| Of course many things grown as damsons aren't, they are "damson plums",
| ie plums that are damson-like.

Grrk. There really isn't any boundary between damsons and plums.

| But mine are Farleigh, a true damson
| raised from a wild seedling: the fruits are sloe-sized, smaller than
| cherries, ...

Well, I have Merryweather and Farleigh, too, and they are both about
the same size - both bantam's egg sized - so there is clearly a great
deal of variation in what is called Farleigh.

Yours sounds like a throwback; the smallest Prunus domestica that I
know of is mirabelle, and they are still larger than sloes and about
as big as cherries. Most damsons are bantam's egg sized.

You must have seen very small bantams, then.

IME largeer varieties of damsons are about the size of pigeons' or
quails' eggs, while most are moe of the thrush egg size.

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Damson Trees?
 

The message
from (Nick Maclaren) contains these words:
In article ,
"Mary Fisher" writes:
|
| Yours sounds like a throwback; the smallest Prunus domestica that I
| know of is mirabelle, and they are still larger than sloes and about
| as big as cherries. Most damsons are bantam's egg sized.
|
| What breed of bantam?
|
| :-)

All right, pullet's egg sized, if you prefer :-)

I was referring to the traditional measure of size, which was fairly
standard (if completely nonsensical), not yer actual bantams ....

Pullets' eggs?

We're getting into serious dessert plum size now!

--
Rusty
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk
Separator in search of a sig

Reading what you say and doing a bit more research, I really wonder whether I have what I am supposed to have.

I did think true damsons were a separate species, but I see that "P institia" is more correctly described as P domestica subsp institia.

I thought I had chosen my sweet plum so that it should be able to be pollinated by my damson. Checking back, I see that they should have exactly the same flowering date (nursery records both flower on average on 23 April). My experience with other fruit is that things vary their flowering out of synch with other varieties, but things said to flower at about the same time ought to do so in some years. In practice the damson has flowered well before the sweet plum. So I'm beginning to wonder if I do have some kind of wild throwback as you say.

There are wild damsons quite common in the hedgerows in the area, but they have a sufficient hint of sloe-like bitterness that I can't use them for cooking (whatever someone said about sloe jam, too bitter for me). But this one in my garden is not bitter, nor as vigorous as the hedgerow damsons.

We used to suck sloe berries when we was kids to try and remove the stain of blackberry juice from our tongues so mother would not know why we were late home from school. I can tell you they are very bitter and leave a dryness in the mouth, whereas the wild damsons we used to gather were sweet once they were fully ripe.
Sloes are about 5 - 10 mm across, while damsons are 15 - 20 mm, but, having said that, if you have a tree that has not been obtained from a reputable source it could be a natural hybrid of anything from that genus.
Provided you enjoy consuming the produce, does it truly matter that much what name someone has decided to hang on it ?.
Personally, I don't eat them, just make flavoured drink instead,
although I use Polish Spirit rather than Gin.