- Growth type: medium-sized
- Crown: spreading, drooping, rare
- Tree height, m: 4-5
- Fruit size: medium
- Fruit weight, g: 35
- Fruit shape: oval-round, one-dimensional
- Fruit color: red-purple
- Skin : gentle, pubescence with a strong waxy coating
- Pulp (consistency): firm and slightly dry, melting and tender
- Pulp color : yellow-pink
For connoisseurs of tasty and healthy plums, it is very important to select and plant a high-quality variety on the site that will not be capricious, quickly adapts to the soil and consistently gives good yields. The list of these includes American selection of Hollywood plum.
Description of the variety
Plum Hollywood, bred by Californian scientists, is a medium-sized tree with spreading branches, weak foliage, drooping crown and strong dark red shoots. A characteristic feature of the tree is its burgundy-red foliage with a smooth surface. On average, the tree grows up to 4-5 meters in height. The tree blooms early - before the mass appearance of foliage - in the first decade of May (from 6 to 14). During this period, the crown is covered with white-pink saucer-shaped double flowers. The tree can rightly be called an ornamental fruit tree, a real decoration of the garden. Flower buds are formed on annual growths. Rapid growth of the plum tree is observed in the first 2-3 years after planting (annual growth of 25-30 cm).
Fruit characteristics
Plums of American selection represent a class of medium-sized varieties. On a healthy tree, the fruits reach a weight of 35 grams. Oval-round plums have a smooth surface with a pronounced waxy bloom. It is characteristic that the fruits grow one-dimensional. When ripe, the fruit is covered with a reddish-purple color. Fruit skin is thin with slight pubescence.
Ripe plums have a universal purpose - they are eaten fresh, used in cooking, compotes and drinks are made, processed, pickled and frozen. The harvested crop can be transported and also stored in a cool place.
Taste qualities
The fruit has a balanced taste. Memorable. The yellow-pink flesh has a fleshy, tender, slightly dry structure with moderate juiciness. The taste is dominated by sweetness, perfectly combined with piquant sourness, without cloying and astringency. The bone inside can be easily separated from the pulp. Fruit pulp contains 9% sugars and almost 2% acids. The peduncle breaks off from the fruit easily.
Ripening and fruiting
Hollywood is a medium-ripening plum. The first harvest can be expected in the 4th or 5th year. Fruiting in the variety is periodic - it directly depends on climatic features and disasters. After bountiful harvests, the dormant season may come. Plums begin to be sung en masse in mid-August, sometimes in the last week of summer.
Yield
Plum Hollywood is famous for its excellent yields.With intensive agricultural technology, an average of 23.5 to 25 kg of sweet plums can be removed from one tree. On an industrial scale, the average figures are also encouraging - 140-148 centners of plums from 1 hectare.
Self-fertility and the need for pollinators
The plum species is self-fertile, therefore it needs donor trees that bloom at the same time as the Hollywood plum. Cross-pollination significantly increases yields. The best pollinating trees are Renklod kolkhozny and Mirnaya.
Growing and care
Planting of seedlings is carried out both in autumn and in spring - it all depends on the characteristics of the climate of the growing zone. The distance between neighboring trees should be such that the crowns do not shade each other.
Comprehensive care of the Hollywood fruit crop consists of a chain of events: watering, feeding, loosening and mulching the soil, crown formation, sanitary and rejuvenating pruning of branches, disease prevention, preparation for winter.
Despite the drought resistance, the tree should be watered 4 times per season - at the time of flowering, when the fruit is ovary, the period of fruit pouring, autumn digging of the soil. It is recommended to apply fertilizers three times per season. In regions with harsh winters, trees require shelter with special materials - burlap, agrofibre.
Disease and pest resistance
The Hollywood plum tree has high immunity, so it rarely gets sick with moniliosis, perforated spot, gum flow and fruit rot. In addition, the fruit crop does not attract pests and rodents, the main thing is not to forget about prevention and proper care.
Despite the fact that plum is considered more hardy than many fruit trees, it is not immune from diseases. It is attacked by viral, fungal and bacterial infections, and parasitic insects harm it. It is necessary to notice and recognize the signs of plum disease in time. They are easier to deal with and defeat early on. Well, in order to protect the garden tree from such a misfortune in the future, preventive procedures can be carried out.
Resistance to soil and climatic conditions
The tree has high resistance to low temperatures (-20 ... 25 degrees), as well as drought resistance. It is comfortable to grow a drain in a sunny place, protected from drafts and wind, where the soil is sufficiently moist, breathable, fertile, with deep groundwater. Ideally, it is sandstone or loam.The acidity of the soil is also important, which should be neutral. Stagnation of moisture and prolonged shade affect the development of the tree.
