Opal Plum on Myrobalan (Spring 2026)
An early, easy, and delicious European plum .
Ths tree is very hardy and vigorous, with a rounded, dense habit. It is productive, and precocious - it will bear as early as its third growing season. This is a great tree for the backyard, as it is very easy to grow. The fruit should be thinned and the tree will also need plenty of sun to get fully flavored fruit. Opal is partially self-fertile, but we always recommend a second variety for cross-pollination to get the best fruit set. Opal will pair well with Victoria, or another early-blooming European plum.
Ripening early in plum season, Opal is a medium-sized, reddish purple plum with yellow flesh. It is free-stone, aromatic, and it has the excellent flavor profile of a gage plum. This is a tasty plum for fresh eating, freezing, jam, and baking.
A cross of Oullins Gage and Early Favorite, Opal was bred in Sweden and released in 1925.
The Fruit
Fruit Type
Category: Plum
Subcategory:
European, Cold-Hardy
Fruit Uses & Storage
Uses: fresh eating, jam, baking, canning, freezing, jelly
Storage duration: less than one month (approximate, depending on storage conditions)
Fruit Appearance
Skin color: red
Flesh color: yellow
Fruit Origins
Parentage: Oullins Gage x Early Favorite
Origin: Sweden
Introduced in: 1925
Introduced by:
The Environment
Calendar & Geography
USDA zones: 3 - 9
Chill hours: Not yet determined
Ripening date: Aug 04 (approximate, in New York State) 28 days before Stanley
Tree Height & Spacing
glossary
Rootstock: Myrobalan Rootstock
Rootstock size class: Standard (100% Size)
Tree spacing: See details
Good for wildlife planting? N
Diseases & Pests
glossary
Opal Plum on Myrobalan does not have any diseases or pests associated with it at this time.
Pollination
Pollination Factors
glossary
Bloom group:
Is it self-fertile? Partial
Is it fertile? Y
Ploidy: Diploid
Rootstock size class:
Standard (100% Size)
Pollination Partners
This table shows the first few results from a full search for pollenizers of Opal 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.