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Imperial Epineuse Plum on Myrobalan (Spring 2025)

You are viewing a tree that will ship in Spring 2025. You can also find trees for Spring 2024.

A famously excellent French plum. Also known as Imperial Epineuse de Clairac.

The tree is attractive and upright with willowy branches. It is very vigorous and productive. Some growers report that this tree is self-fertile, but we recommend a pollen partner for optimal cropping. 

Ripening early-mid September, the fruit is medium sized and oval with a purple skin. It is freestone, very sweet, juicy, and highly flavored. This plum is delicious for fresh eating or drying. 

Imperial Epineuse was discovered growing in an abandoned monastary in Lot Valley, France around 1870. It was brought to America in 1883 by Felix Gillet. From its humble origins, Imperial Epineuse has achieved fame for its outstanding flavor; it is used at the English National Fruit Trials as the standard by which the flavor of other plums are rated. 

Images from USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection, Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, Maryland.

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$38.75

29 in stock
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The tree is attractive and upright with willowy branches. It is very vigorous and productive. Some growers report that this tree is self-fertile, but we recommend a pollen partner for optimal cropping. 

Ripening early-mid September, the fruit is medium sized and oval with a purple skin. It is freestone, very sweet, juicy, and highly flavored. This plum is delicious for fresh eating or drying. 

Imperial Epineuse was discovered growing in an abandoned monastary in Lot Valley, France around 1870. It was brought to America in 1883 by Felix Gillet. From its humble origins, Imperial Epineuse has achieved fame for its outstanding flavor; it is used at the English National Fruit Trials as the standard by which the flavor of other plums are rated. 

Images from USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection, Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, Maryland.


The Fruit

Fruit Type

Category: Plum
Subcategory: European

Fruit Uses & Storage

Uses: fresh eating, jam, baking, freezing, sauce
Storage duration: (approximate, depending on storage conditions)

Fruit Appearance

Skin color: purple
Flesh color: yellow

Fruit Origins

Parentage: unknown
Origin: France
Introduced in:
Introduced by: Felix Gillet

The Environment

Calendar & Geography

USDA zones: 5 - 9
Chill hours: Not yet determined
Ripening date: Sep 01 (approximate, in New York State) + 0 days after Stanley

Tree Height & Spacing

Rootstock: Myrobalan Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Standard (100% Size)
Tree spacing: See details
Good for wildlife planting? N

Diseases & Pests

Imperial Epineuse Plum on Myrobalan does not have any diseases or pests associated with it at this time.

Pollination

Pollination Factors

Bloom group:
Is it self-fertile? N
Is it fertile?
Rootstock size class: Standard (100% Size)

Pollination Partners

This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Imperial Epineuse Plum on Myrobalan. Please see our Pollenizer Search to run other queries and read how the application uses various factors. Also read more about fruit tree pollination.

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See all pollination matches for Imperial Epineuse Plum on Myrobalan






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