Oak Summit Nursery

Opata Cherry Plum (Prunus salicina x Prunus besseyi 'Opata')

Name: Opata Cherry Plum (Prunus salicina x Prunus besseyi 'Opata')
Brand: Oak Summit Nursery 1.0
Price: 15.00 CAD
Availability: InStock

$15.00 CAD

$15.00 CAD bbb

Sale Sold out

Size

Large Plug 1YR

Product variants

Quantity

Opata Cherry Plum (Prunus besseyi × Prunus salicina) is sand cherry x Japanese 'Golden' plum. It grows more compact and ripens earlier than other cherry plums. Dark purplish red skin with blue bloom. Green firm flesh. Sweet with a sprightly acid note, thin skin without acerbity. The fruit is about 1 3/8". Early season. Bears young and heavily on one year wood. Introduced 1908 by the South Dakota Experiment Station

Cold Hardiness: Zone 3

Here's a comparison of the cherry plum cultivars we're growing.

Name	Year Introduced	Breeding Parentage	Breeder / Institution	Flesh Color	Skin Color	Size	Flavor / Use
Compass	1896	Sand cherry (Prunus besseyi) × “Minor” (Miner) plum (Prunus hortulana group)	H. Knudson, Springfield, Minnesota	Yellowish	Dark purple-red	~2.5 cm (small)	Excellent for jelly; good for canning
Sapa	1908	Sand cherry (P. besseyi) × ‘Sultan’ (Japanese plum, P. salicina)	South Dakota Experiment Station, Brookings, SD	Dark purple	Purple with bluish bloom	~2.5 cm (small)	Excellent for canning and jam
Opata	1908	Sand cherry (P. besseyi) × ‘Gold’ (Japanese plum, P. salicina)	South Dakota Experiment Station, Brookings, SD	Yellowish-green	Greenish, overlaid reddish-purple	2.5–3 cm (small)	Good for preserves
Kappa	1960	Sand cherry (P. besseyi) × Japanese plum (P. salicina)	University of Saskatchewan (Cecil Patterson)	Yellow-green	Dark, bluish-black at maturity	Small (≈ cherry-plum size)	Sweet, fruity “cherry-plum” flavor
Sapalta	1941	‘Sapa’ × open-pollinated (pollen parent unknown)	Canadian selection (Brooks, Alberta)	Dark purple	Reddish-purple	Small to medium	Sweet-tart; excellent for canning/jam
Dura	1942	‘Sapa’ seedling	Morden Experimental Station, Manitoba	Red	Dull green blotched with purple	~3.5 cm (medium-small)	Excellent for canning
Manor	1945	‘Sapa’ seedling	Morden Experimental Station, Manitoba	Dark red	Dark purple-red	2.5–3 cm (small)	Excellent for canning