Types of Plum Trees: European, Japanese, American and Hybrid Plums

By the Garden Voila editorial team · Updated October 27, 2026 · How we verify

There are three main types of plum trees grown in home gardens: European plums (Prunus domestica), which include prune plums, gages and damsons; Japanese plums (Prunus salicina) and their hybrids, such as Santa Rosa and Burgundy; and hardy American and American-hybrid plums, such as Toka and Superior. Add native species such as the Chickasaw plum, the ornamental cherry plum and plum-apricot hybrids like pluots, and you have the full plum family. The right type for you depends mainly on your winter cold, your chill hours and whether you want plums for fresh eating, drying or preserves.

Plum tree types compared

Zone ranges follow the Utah State University Extension guide to plums in the home garden, which rates European plums for about zones 5 to 8, Japanese plums for about 5 to 9 and American plums for zones 3 or 4 depending on the cultivar. Check your own zone with the growing zone finder.

What are European plums?

European plums are the plums of old orchards in Europe, the Pacific Northwest and the northern US. The trees are upright, the blossoms open about 10 to 14 days later than Japanese plums, which helps them escape spring frosts, and the fruit is usually oval, firm and very sweet. USU divides them into two groups. Prune types, such as Italian prune, ‘Stanley’ and ‘Improved French’, have blue or purple skin and yellow flesh, and are sweet enough to dry with the pit in; our guide on how to make prunes shows how. Dessert types, such as the green and yellow gages (‘Green Gage’, Reine Claude) and ‘Seneca’, are rounder and juicier and are eaten fresh.

Damsons are small, tart, blue-black European plums prized for jam, gin and preserves. Mirabelles are tiny, golden, very sweet plums popular in France. All of these share the same care needs: modified central leader training, moderate pruning and pollination from another European plum.

What are Japanese plums?

Japanese plums came to the US from China via Japan in the late 1800s and were transformed by plant breeder Luther Burbank, who introduced many of today’s classic varieties. The trees are rounder and more spreading than European plums, bloom early and bear round, large, very juicy fruit with red, purple, yellow or almost black skin and yellow or red flesh. They are mainly eaten fresh. Popular varieties include the Santa Rosa plum, ‘Satsuma’, ‘Shiro’, ‘Methley’ and the sweet Burgundy plum.

Japanese plums generally need fewer chill hours than European plums. The University of Georgia Extension home garden plum guide gives about 500 to 900 chill hours for Japanese types and about 700 to 1,100 for European types, which is why Japanese plums dominate in the South and California. Because they bloom early, a late frost can take part of the crop, but they flower so heavily that a partial crop usually remains.

What are American and hybrid plums?

American plum (Prunus americana) is a hardy native of the central and eastern US that grows as a large shrub or small tree and often suckers into thickets. In the early 1900s, breeders in Minnesota and South Dakota crossed it with Japanese plums to create cold-hardy hybrids with bigger, sweeter fruit. These American-Japanese hybrids, including Toka, Superior, ‘Alderman’, ‘Pipestone’, ‘Underwood’ and ‘La Crescent’, are the best choice for zones 3 and 4. They almost always need a second, different variety for pollination, and Toka is one of the most widely used pollinizers.

What native plums grow in North America?

Several wild plums grow across the US. The Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia) forms thickets in the South and Southern Plains; beach plum (P. maritima) grows on the Atlantic coast; and Canada plum (P. nigra) grows in the far North. Native plums are valuable for wildlife, hedgerows and jelly, and some have been selected for better fruit.

What is a cherry plum?

The cherry plum or myrobalan (Prunus cerasifera) is a small Eurasian tree with cherry-sized red or yellow plums. Its purple-leaved forms are widely planted as ornamentals, and its seedlings are a common rootstock for other plums. The name “cherry plum” is also used for modern plum-cherry hybrids, so check the botanical name when buying.

What are pluots and plumcots?

Pluots, plumcots and apriums are hybrids between plums and apricots. Plumcots are roughly half and half; pluots are mostly plum with some apricot; apriums are mostly apricot. They tend to be exceptionally sweet. See pluot vs plumcot for the differences and how to grow them.

Which type of plum tree should you grow?

How does plum pollination work?

Pollination is the most common reason a plum tree flowers but does not fruit. USU explains three simple rules:

• European plums are often self-fruitful but crop better with another European plum nearby, such as Stanley or Italian.
• Japanese plums usually need another Japanese or American plum. European plum pollen does not work for them, and their bloom times rarely overlap anyway.
• American hybrids almost always need a different variety; Toka and native plums are common pollinizers.

Bees do the work, so plant pollination partners within about 50 to 100 feet and avoid insecticide sprays during bloom. UGA notes that even self-fertile plums set more fruit with a partner nearby.

How big do plum trees get?

Most plum trees on standard rootstock grow about 15 to 20 feet tall and wide, and USU recommends spacing them 18 to 22 feet apart. European plums are more upright; Japanese plums spread wider. Semi-dwarf rootstocks such as ‘Marianna’ keep trees around 10 to 15 feet, and dwarfing rootstocks such as ‘St. Julian A’ and ‘Pixy’ make trees closer to 8 to 12 feet. American plums can grow as multi-stem shrubs and sucker. Pruning each year keeps any plum at a manageable height; see how to prune a plum tree.

How long until a plum tree bears fruit?

Most grafted plum trees start fruiting 3 to 6 years after planting. Japanese plums and American hybrids such as Superior are often quicker, sometimes bearing in their second or third year, while European plums are a little slower. Once mature, USU estimates about 3 to 5 bushels of fruit per tree, slightly less for American plums. Plums bear mostly on short spurs on wood 2 to 5 years old.

How do you plant and care for plum trees?

1. Site: Full sun and well-drained soil. Plums tolerate many soils but not wet, heavy ground. Avoid frost pockets.
2. Planting: Plant dormant bare-root trees in late winter or early spring, with the graft union 2 to 4 inches above the soil. Size the hole with the planting hole size calculator, and stake for one year only in windy sites; see how to stake a tree.
3. Water: USU suggests watering about twice a week the first season, then deeply every two weeks so water reaches 1 to 2 feet down.
4. Fertilizer: Do not fertilize the first year. Afterward, feed only if shoot growth is weak; our fruit tree fertilizer guide explains how.
5. Thinning: Thin European and Japanese plums to about 4 to 6 inches apart after frost danger passes for bigger, sweeter fruit.
6. Mulch 2 to 4 inches deep, away from the trunk; use the mulch calculator.

What pests and diseases affect plum trees?

The University of Illinois Extension calls black knot the most serious plum problem in Illinois, and it is common across the East and Midwest. Use the plant problem identifier for other symptoms.

When are plums ready to pick?

Plums ripen from early summer for Japanese types to late summer and early fall for European prune plums. Ripe plums soften slightly, reach full color (blue, purple, red or yellow, depending on the variety), develop a powdery bloom and come off the branch easily. Taste-test a few; plums picked a little early soften on the counter but do not get much sweeter. USU recommends refrigerating ripe plums and using them within about three weeks.

Plum varieties by color and flavor

Color is a quick guide to how a plum will be used, but variety matters more than color. Taste plums at a local orchard or farmers’ market in summer if you can; it is the best way to pick a tree you will enjoy for decades.

Which rootstock should you choose for a plum tree?

Rootstock decides the size, hardiness and soil tolerance of a plum tree as much as the variety does. Myrobalan seedlings (cherry plum) are the most common rootstock: vigorous, adaptable to heavy soils and producing a full-size tree. ‘Marianna 2624’ tolerates wet soils better and makes a slightly smaller tree. ‘St. Julian A’ and ‘Pixy’ are semi-dwarfing to dwarfing and suit small gardens and European plums. In very cold regions, hardy American plum or sand cherry seedlings are sometimes used. The University of Illinois Extension notes that European plums are mostly grafted on myrobalan, sometimes on sand cherry or ‘St. Julian A’, while Japanese plums use myrobalan or semi-dwarf ‘Marianna’. Ask your nursery which rootstock a tree is on before buying.

For related stone fruit, see dwarf apricot trees and dwarf cherry trees, and for the hardy wild type, the cherry plum tree.

Planning more fruit? Browse every variety, planting and care article in our complete fruit tree growing guide.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Utah State University Extension, Plums in the Home Garden; University of Georgia Extension, Home Garden Plums; University of Illinois Extension, Plums.