Plum trees suffer from poor summer

The growth of plums in the UK has suffered due to the wet and wild summer weather, according to IC Walsall.

The plum is popular around the country with jam makers and pie bakers and of course those who prefer to taste the juiciness of a ripe fruit.

But the rainy summer and spring have led to poor crops and a reliance on imported varieties from Italy and further afield.

The question for gardeners is whether to persevere with their plum trees or to turn their hand to something more exotic – perhaps even growing under glass to help produce high quality fruit and veg.

"I would say that 50 per cent of the calls we have are from people who want to know if we have any available," explained Essington Fruit Farm manager Richard Simpkin.

"The frosty winter has really hit us hard and we just have not got the fruit to sell.

"People still love plums."

A young plum tree usually takes around five years to reach full production and will then bear fruit for around 20 years – so gardeners who have added a tree recently but suffered from the poor weather need not despair – theres plenty of time for the tree to bear fruit yet.