Oak Summit Nursery
Opata Cherry Plum
Opata Cherry Plum
Regular price
$15.00 CAD
Regular price
Sale price
$15.00 CAD
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per
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Opata Cherry Plum is a Sand Cherry and Japanese Gold Plum hybrid introduced by the South Dakota Experiment Station in 1908. It has a compact habit, begins bearing young on one year wood, and ripens earlier than many other cherry plums.
The early fruit is about 1 3/8 inches across, with dark purplish red skin, a blue bloom, and firm green flesh. Its sweet flavour has a lively acid note without the skin astringency found in some cherry plums.
Compare the cherry plum cultivars growing at Oak Summit Nursery.
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Growing details
- Hardiness
- Zone 3
- Fruit
- Dark purplish red fruit about 1 3/8 in across, with a blue bloomFirm green flesh, sweet with a lively acid note
- Mature size
- About 8 ft tall and 7 ft wideA compact bush
- First fruit
- About two years after plantingIt bears young, on one year old wood
- Site and soil
- Full sun and soil that drains wellAvoid low spots where frost settles
Ripening
Mid to late August
Reported from Alberta. Earlier than many cherry plums
Cold hardinessZone 3 · Canadian maps for this plant
Zone 3 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
Opata needs pollen from another cherry plum. Sapa, Sapalta, Manor and Convoy have all given good results, though Convoy may flower later than Opata. Western sandcherry and American wild plum may also supply pollen, though neither is a sure thing.
| Plant alongside | What trials found |
|---|---|
| Manor Cherry Plum | Gave a good result as a pollen source for Opata. |
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.