Oak Summit Nursery
Kappa Cherry Plum
Kappa Cherry Plum
Regular price
$15.00 CAD
Regular price
Sale price
$15.00 CAD
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per
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Kappa Cherry Plum was released by Cecil Patterson at the University of Saskatchewan in 1960. This compact Canadian cultivar bears heavy crops at a young age. The small fruit has dark blue black skin and a sweet fruity flavour with mildly tart skin. It is a medium season cherry plum, used fresh or for jam and canning. Kappa needs a compatible cherry plum or Japanese plum for pollination.
Here's a comparison of the cherry plum cultivars we're growing.
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Growing details
- Hardiness
- Zone 2
- Mature size
- About 6 ft tall and 5 ft wideOne nursery's estimate for a mature bush
- Fruit
- Small fruit with dark bluish black skinSweet and fruity, with mildly tart skin
- Uses
- Fresh eating, jam and canning
- Cropping
- Heavy crops two to three years after plantingTypical for cherry plums
- Season
- Medium season for a cherry plumAs listed in a Prairie variety index
- Site and soil
- Full sun and soil that drains wellAvoid low spots where frost settles
More about this plant
A Saskatchewan cherry plum
Kappa was released in 1960 by Cecil Patterson at the University of Saskatchewan. It is a cross of western sandcherry and Japanese plum.
Cold hardinessZone 2 · Canadian maps for this plant
Zone 2 and warmer
The map shows minimum winter hardiness. Soil, moisture and summer warmth also affect how a plant grows.
About these maps
Climate: Natural Resources Canada, 1991–2020. Provincial distribution: VASCAN via retained botanical research. Province outlines: Natural Earth, public domain.
Open Government Licence – CanadaPollination
Plant Kappa with other distinct cherry plums for a better chance of fruit. No tested partner is known for it, so plant two or three different ones and do not rely on Manor alone. Western sandcherry and American wild plum may also supply pollen, though neither is a sure thing.
The cherry plums we list are sold out right now.
How the cherry plums compare
The cherry plums we grow, side by side.
| Variety | Introduced | Parentage | Fruit | Size | Flavour and use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compass | 1896. H. Knudson, Minnesota | Sandcherry crossed with a native plum. Accounts differ on which | Dark purple red skin, yellowish flesh | About 1 in | Jelly and canning |
| Sapa | 1908. Niels Hansen, South Dakota Experiment Station | Sandcherry × Sultan Japanese plum | Purple skin with a blue bloom, dark purple flesh | Small, about 1 in | Sweet and tart. Jam and canning |
| Opata | 1908. South Dakota Experiment Station | Sandcherry × Gold Japanese plum | Dark purplish red skin with a blue bloom, green flesh | About 1⅜ in | Sweet with a lively acid note. Preserves |
| Sapalta | 1941. Introduced from Brooks, Alberta | Open pollinated seedling of Sapa | Reddish purple skin, deep purple flesh | Small to medium | Sweet and tart. Fresh, canning and jam |
| Convoy | 1941. Released by Boughen Nurseries, Manitoba | Western sandcherry × Japanese plum | Red skin, yellow flesh | About ¾ to 1¼ in | Sweet and juicy. Fresh, preserves, baking and canning |
| Dura | 1942. Morden Experimental Station, Manitoba | Seedling of Sapa | Dull green skin blotched with purple, red flesh | About 1⅜ in | Canning |
| Manor | 1945. Morden Experimental Station, Manitoba | Seedling of Sapa | Dark purple skin, purplish red flesh | Small, 1 to 1¼ in | Fresh, jam and canning |
| Kappa | 1960. Cecil Patterson, University of Saskatchewan | Sandcherry × Japanese plum | Dark bluish black skin. Sources disagree on the flesh colour | Small | Sweet and fruity. Fresh, jam and canning |
| New Oka | Not recorded | Western sandcherry × Japanese plum | Dark bluish black skin, wine red flesh | About 1.2 in | Highly flavoured. Fresh and preserves |
Years, parentage and introducers are as the nursery has long listed them, and have not all been checked against breeders' records.
Accounts of Compass differ, and its skin colour remains uncertain.
New Oka's colour and size are as Prairie growers describe this group of cherry plums.
Convoy's size is one retailer's figure.