Dallas Fruit and Vegetable Grower

February Apricot and Plum Blooms

It is February 29th, and our apricots and plums are blooming.

I mentioned two weeks ago that one of our pluots was blooming.  Now the apricots and plums are starting to bloom as well.

The Blenheim apricot started blooming first.  The photograph above is of Blenheim blooms.  The photographs below show the size of this tree that is 3 years old in the ground.  I have also attached another photograph of some Blenheim blooms.

 

 

Our Moorpark apricot is also starting to bloom, but only ever so slightly.  A photograph of our Moorpark is found below.

 

 

 

Our plums are also starting to bloom.  Our Morris plum has also been in the ground for three years, and it has grown the fastest of the plum trees.  It also is in bloom with very small, white blossoms.

 

 

 

If I had to bet, I think the last of the cold weather is behind us.  The forecast for this week is warm and warmer temperatures.  While we might still get some temperatures in the mid and high 30s, I seriously doubt, at this point, that we will get any more really hard, killing freezes that could cause damage to the fruit blossoms.  

My biggest concern at this point is whether enough of our native pollinators are out working.  I have seen a few bees gathering around the dandelions, but I have not seen them working the fruit trees.  I installed a Mason bee "nest" last summer, and its tubes were half full of coccooned eggs; however, I really have not seen them hatched in large number, yet.

Growing Apricots in Texas

 

Before planting our two apricot trees, I rarely would eat apricots from the store.  When I did, they were either mushy,  mealy or tough.  I also would eat dried apricots, but dried fruit cannot compare to fresh fruit.

My eyes were opened when our first crop of Moorpark fresh apricots ripened.  Without doubt, fresh, ripened apricots are the treasure of our fruit garden.  The taste, texture, and sweetness was otherworldly.   Because apricots are so tender and do not ship well, a homegrown apricot is one of the types of fruit that really excels over what you can find in the stores.  For that reason, in my opinion, one or two apricot trees can be a very rewarding addition to your fruit orchard if you have the space.

Now, keep in mind that apricots get a pretty bad rap.  They have a reputation of being very finicky.  One of the main issues is that they tend to bear biennially -- every other year -- or worse.  In fact, they have a reputation for sometime producing fruit only once every five years!  My trees have produced every other year, to date.   A major issue in obtaining reliable fruit production is the vulnerability of apricot fruit buds.  Apricots have a reputation for blooming very early in the Spring such that their blossoms are damaged if a late freezes occurs (which is often the case in Texas and the South) -- harming fruit set.  Many apricot varieties will be the first to bloom in your garden.  This risk can be reduced by selecting later blooming varieties.

Northwest Texas fruit grower Richard Ashton wrote an informative article on growing Apricots in Texas for The Texas Gardener a few years back, and this article continues to be relevant.  You can read the article here.  Ashton's website for his Oak Creek Orchard also cites to a prior article printed in NAFEX's Pomona Magazine by Richard Purvis which is equally informative: Apricots - A Wider Geographic Possibility?

Texas A&M's material on apricots and other stone fruit can be found - here.

Varieties

In terms of variety selection, Ashton suggests a variety developed at the research station at Prosser, Washington called Tomcot.  Ashton states that although Tomcot does not bloom late, it blooms over a three week period of time which means that "if the first blooms are bitten by a late frost the later blooms have a good chance of producing fruit."  Tomcat matures early, can be of good size, and I have read several reports that it has outstanding flavor and sweetness.  It is a favorite of some growers.  Ashton writes that its size makes Tomcot appropriate as a commercial apricot because of its large size and good shipping qualities. 

Ashton also suggests a central Asian apricot variety called Jerseycot.  This variety is a cross between an asian and french variety.  It is reported to bloom nearly two weeks later than most American apricot varieties.  You may have to do some searching to find this variety.

In other material, Ashton also recommends Bryan's orange fleshed, medium sized fruit that ripens in late May to early June.  Ashton also recommends the following varieties for their later blooming habits:

"Hunza - Very sweet, small fruit on a very late blooming tree. This tree takes a little longer to start bearing, not as productive as some but the very sweet fruit are worth it. (Close to 30 brix). Considered a sweet-pit apricot, we have not tried the kernels. We have one hunza variety apricot but there are several hunza type apricot varieties. They come from the hunza valley of far northern Pakistan where people live to be older than in most areas and cancer is practically unknown, the hunza people eat mainly millet and apricot products ie. dried apricots, apricot kernels (roasted) and apricot kernel oil. This variety has a high chill requirement and is only suited for northern plantings. Matures about June 5th in west-central Texas. Good size with excellent taste.

Chinese (Morman) - Heavy producer of small to medium, golden fruit with a red blush. Very Cold and late frost hardy. This was one of the first trees recommended for late frost prone areas, now we have others as shown here. This is a very good tasting, semi-clingstone fruit. Some people consider this a sweet-pit apricot, we have not tried them. Blooms and fruit seem to be more resistant of cold weather than most varieties. Matures about June 10th in west-central Texas.

Tilton – Good fresh or processed. Medium to large fruit, firm, rich flavored. Adaptable tree, late blooming but not the latest. Ripens about June 1st in west-central Texas. Good sized fruit with excellent taste.

Tisdale – Medium sized, freestone, good flavored fruit on a consistently bearing tree. A later blooming tree. From Roy Tisdale in Belton, Texas. Matures early about May 20th in west-central Texas. Medium sized fruit with very good taste. 

Harglow -- Medium size, dark orange with red blush, firm, sweet fruit on a late blooming tree. Early to mid season ripening fruit.  

Goldensweet (pp#8932)-- Freestone, sweet (15-18 brix), frim fruit on a moderately vigorous, productive tree. Blooms about a week later than common varieties. Self-fruitful.

Texas A&M also recommends some of the same varieties as Ashton -- Bryan and Chinese.  A&M further recommends Blenheim and Moorpark, stating:

"Blenheim is a medium size fruit with orange peel and yellow flesh. It has been the most consistent variety across the state and ripens in late June.

Moorpark has medium to large fruit with orange flesh that ripens in mid-June.

Bryan ripens in late May to early June with orange fleshed medium size fruit.

Chinese (or Mormon) seems to be more cold hardy in some locations as it has an extended bloom. Fruit are small to medium in size."

Another North Texas grower has told me that Robado is one of his favorites for taste and that he has had success with it.

Blenheim and Moorpark are common commercial varieties.  I am growing both Blenheim and Moorpark.  In my garden, my Blenheim and Moorpark trees are not genearlly the first fruit trees to bloom.  The pluots, plumcots, pluots, and cherries bloom shortly before the apricots.  My trees have produced fruit biennially, to date.

Habits

Apricots are self-fruitful, but it is always better to have more than one variety to help with pollination.

As to chill hours below 45 degrees, many varieties need 700 hours of chill hours.  However, there are varieties that require less.  For example, Ashton suggests that Gold Kist has a  lower chilling requirement of 300 hours and Katy only needs 400 hour chill hours.

For other listed varieties, I cannot pers0nally vouch for the following chill hour requirements, but these are some of the levels that are being reported by nurseries:

Tomcot  - 500 hours

Jerseycot

Bryan 

Hunza 

Chinese (Morman) 

Tilton - 600 hours

Tisdale –  600 hours

Harglow --  800 hours

Goldensweet 

Blenheim - 400 hours

Moorpark  - 600 hours

Dallas, Texas generally gets 700 - 800 chill hours in a typical year.

If you live in Texas and do not know what  chill hours you typically get in a given year, go to this site for that information - Texas chill hours.

If you live in the Southeast in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina or South Carolina, this is a really cool tool to determine your chill hours - Southeast chill hours.

California also provides good information - California chill hours.

Alternatively, here is a national map created by the University of Maryland:

 

 

Pruning Apple Trees

 © iStockphoto  2012

 

Late winter is the perfect time to prune your apple  trees (and all other fruit trees) while they are still dormant.  In North Texas and the South, February is the time to do this pruning.

Pruning is a skill that I am still developing, but I thought that I would share some of the things that I have learned and read that you may also find useful.

 

Types of Pruning Methods

For apple trees, there are a couple of different ways to prune your trees.  You will need to decide which method works best for you.

One method is the central leader method, which essentially shapes the tree into a traditional form with a main trunk.  The tree in the photograph above appears to be growing on a central leader.

The second method is the open vase or open center method.  This format does not have a main trunk but rather has three or four secondary trunks branching from the crotch of the main trunk.

For a suburban garden with limited space, my favorite pruning method is the central leader method for a more traditional looking tree with ornamental presence.

The photograph below is a tree that has been pruned to have more of an open center.

 

 © iStockphoto  2012

 

Strategies when Pruning 

Some strategies when  pruning apples include:

-    remove downward pointed branches and shoots

-    remove shoots growing straight up - watersprouts.

-    remove branches growing inward that will block sunlight

-    do not prune more than 1/3 of the tree canopy.

-    make sure all of the branches will get plenty of exposure to sunlight and do not cover each other up

 

Central Leader Pruning

It is very important to focus on pruning for a good shape early in a tree's  life, particularly the first three year.  When you order a bare-rooted apple tree, you will often receive a whip that is a single, straight trunk without any branches or scaffolding.  If you are working with a branchless whip, that first year's pruning will be crucial, because it will establish where the first level of scaffolding or branching starts.

Aggie Horticulture has a nice discussion on pruning - here.  The following two diagrams are from the Aggie Horticulture / AgriLife Extension Office's discussion on growing apples in Texas.  They provide a good visual for establishing your scaffolding.

First growing season:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Second growing season: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following video discusses encouraging a central leader and scaffolding on two year old trees.

 

 

 

The next video gives a fairly good overview of pruning a tree using the central leader method.  I like this video's treatment of pruning above the bud of a young tree branch to form the tree in a desirable structure.

 

 

The following video also discusses encouraging a central leader.  It also talks about making pruning cuts in order to encourage branching  or scaffolds.

 

 

 

 Open Center or Open Vase Pruning

The following set of videos  address pruning a tree into  an open center or open vase shape.  This method is effective for fruit production because it allows all of the secondary trunks to receive significant sunshine for fruit production.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few more videos in a 2 part series from the University of Maine, discussing the pruning of a mature apple tree:

 

 

 

 

Of course there are other methods of pruning your trees, such as espaliering.  Additionally, if you are planting a high density commercial or U-pick orchard, some growers are using high density cordons like the one below.  

 

© iStockphoto  2012

 

Flowering cherry trees

 © iStockphoto  2011

 

I get more hits and inquiries about growing cherries on this website than any other topic or fruit.

Texans and southerners just want to grow cherries, I guess.  I find it fascinating that there is so much more interest in growing cherries over the other fruits.

People also seem to be interested in flowering cherry trees as ornamentals.

If you fall in that category, the Dallas Morning News ran a great article on flowering cherries earlier in the week.

You can read this article "Yes, cherry trees can flourish in Dallas" by Penny Ruekberg and Marianne Greene - here. 

Early blooming in 2012 -- Bad news

 

Well, it appears that at least one  of my fruit trees is confused by this last week of warm weather.  The tree in the photograph above is a 4-in-1 pluot purchased three years ago from Raintree, that turned into a 3-in-1 pluot after one of the grafts failed.  The tree is a combination of Splash, Emerald Drop, Flavor Grenade, and Geo Pride, and I do not know which one of these was the graft which failed.

If you look closely, you can see that one of the grafts is in full bloom.  This is not good.  There is nothing else blooming now to pollinate it.  Also, there are very, very few bees out right now.  In December, I saw a honeybee in some of the salvia nemerosa that have miraculously continued to bloom throughout the winter.  But that was it.  And I feel confident that our mason bees are not ready to hatch.  Further, a hard frost may destroy the flowers or any emergent fruit.

The bottom line is that unless we do not get another really hard freeze and/or snow, I will probably not get any fruit from these blooms this year.  I strongly suspect that we will get some hard, cold wintry weather before the winter is over this year.  (Since late November, we have had pretty consistently cold nighttime temperatures into the high 30s and low 40s, but we have not had that big snow or ice storm or temperatures in the teens or 20's, as in years past.)

This pluot has been the first tree to bloom for the past few years.  However, last year, it did not start to bloom until the very end of February, as you can see in this post - Blooming Pluot.  And last year was earlier than usual!

I cannot remember  which of the varieties this fruiting graft  is because I did not mark them before someone in my household removed the tags - I have learned from this mistake.  Geo Pride requires 550 hours of winter chilling, but I have not seen written anywhere when its bloom time is.  Here is a nice photo of a Geo Pride - photo.  Flavor Grenade requires 600 chilling hours and blooms in "early mid-bloom season" - photo.   Emerald Drop requires 700 chilling hours and blooms in "mid bloom season" - photo.  Finally, Splash has a chilling requirement of 650 hours and blooms in "mid bloom season" - photo.

Given that the other three are mid-season bloomers, my guess is that this is the Geo Pride that keeps blooming early.  So why is this tree blooming early?  From what I have read, this early bloom can results from several factors -  a variety that is an early bloomer (different varieties have different profiles for when they bloom each year in comparison to other varieties); how many chill hours the tree requires; and whether there has been a break in the winter weather (warmer temperatures can fool a fruit tree into breaking dormancy; additionally, I have read that temperatures above 60 degrees during dormancy can even subtract chill hours from our chill hour totals).   Because we often have warm interludes during our winters in Texas and the South, our fruit trees can often be fooled to prematurely break dormancy if they are early bloomers; consequently, it is often beneficial to plant mid to late blooming varieties in the South.

As a side note, I am somewhat surprised that the Minnie Royal and Royal Lee cherries, which have very low chilling requirements (200-300), were not the first to break open their blooms.  They are reported by Dave Wilson Nursery to bloom 10 to 14 days before Bing, and cherries are typically early season bloomers.With their low chilling requirement, I feared when I planted them that they might bloom too early and then lose their blossoms with unexpected late frosts.  So far this year, they are not blossoming.  This is the first full spring following planting of these low chill cherries, so I am still learning about how they will perform in my garden.

The photograph below is a close-up of the pluot first blooms:

 

 

Growing plum trees in North Texas and Dallas

^{© iStockphoto  2011}

If you are planning to add some plum trees to your landscape, now is the time to order them.  Texas A&M recommends that bare-rooted plum trees be planted during the period between January 1st and February 15th and that containerized plants be planted between January 1st and March 31st.

In this post, I have listed the varieties that Texas A&M and several other growers recommend as being well suited for growing in North Texas and which have good or acceptable taste.  I have also listed several additional varieties that have been highly ranked for exceptional taste but that have not necessarily been tested or approved for our climate.

Plums Preferred By Local Growers

Richard Ashton, who owns Oak Creek Orchard, recommends Methley as probably the best plum for growing in North Texas.  He also comments that there are several of the Auburn University plums that have fairly good taste and will grow in North Texas.  Mr. Ashton does not care for Bruce's taste qualities, even though it is recommended by many extension agents and other growers.

 Bob Wells of Bob Wells Nursery has three favorite plum varieties.  He likes the Methley which he describes as dark purple and "the sweetest plum grown."  He also likes Morris which he describes as an extra large freestone plum with purple color.  Finally, he suggests Bruce which is an early ripening, large red plum. 

Dale and Judy Ham operate Ham Orchard in Terrell, Texas.  The Hams' favorite plum varieties for North and East Texas are Methley,Morris, Santa Rosa and Ozark Premier.

Glynn and Sandra Russell operate Newburn Farms in Center, Texas.  They prefer Ozark Premier with its large, golden meat and very sweet taste.  They are also in the process of adding Santa Rosa plums to their orchard.

Texas A&M has published several articles that recommend different varieties for Texas. 

In Recommended Fruit, Nut and Berry Cultivars for North Central Texas, they recommend: Morris, Methley, Ozark Premier, and Bruce.  In a separate publication, Texas A&M also recommends: Gulfruby, Gulfgold, and Allred.

The following is a brief description of these varieties:

Methley:    A purple-red skinned, medium sized plum with red flesh.  It ripens early.  It has juicy and sweet flesh, but the skin is astringent.  It is self-fertile and can be used as a pollinator.  It is a medium sized tree with only 150 chilling hours required to set fruit.  It can sometimes have problems with black knot in the north.

Morris:    A reddish-black skinned, medium-large sized plum with red flesh.  It ripens early, and its flesh is firm, somewhat dry, and crisp with good flavor.  It is a large tree that requires 800 chilling hours and a pollinator. 

Ozark Premier:    A red skinned, very large sized plum with yellow flesh.  It ripens mid-season, and its flesh is firm, juicy, and tart with good flavor.  The skin can be tough.  It is a cross of Methley and Burbank.  This is a medium sized tree.

Santa Rosa:    Reddish purple skinned, very large plum with reddish/pink flesh.  It ripens mid-season, and its flesh is fine-textured and aromatic and has a very good flavor.  It is partly self-fertile and only requires about 300 chilling hours.  It is a large tree that was introduced by Luther Burbank.

Bruce:    A red skinned, large sized plum with yellow flesh.  It ripens very early, and has good taste.  A medium sized tree that requires a pollinator.  Introduced in Texas, and it is believed to be a cross between Abundance and Excelsior.

Allred:    A red skinned, small plum with red flesh.  It ripens early, and its flesh is sweet-tart that is better for processing.  Its leaves are red making it an unusual and nice ornamental selection.  A medium sized tree that was introduced by Wolf Nursery in Stephenville, Texas.

Gulfruby:    A reddish purple skinned, medium-large plum with yellow flesh.  It ripens early, and its flesh is sweet with a bitter skin surrounding it.  This medium sized tree has a low chill requirement.

Gulfgold:    Yellow skinned with a red blush, this medium sized plum has yellow flesh.  It ripens mid-season, and it is the sweetest of the Gulf series which makes it well suited for dried fruit.  This small tree is susceptible to plum leaf scald.

 Varieties With Reputations As The BEST Tasting

 If you are interested in growing plums, Texan Richard Ashton has authored a great resource that provides an extensive list of plum varietals and their characteristics entitled Plums of North America.  What I do not know is how well suited these varieties will be for the hot, humid climate of Texas and the South.  The P. domestica varieties may have difficulty in our climate.  The japanese types, P. Salicina, typically perform better in the South.

Ashton rates the following varieties as having the very best taste of plum varieties:

Cambridge Gage:    A green skinned, medium sized plum with greenish yellow flesh.  It ripens in late mid-season with dense, firm flesh and that rich gage flavor.  It is a medium/compact sized tree and partly self-fertile.

Campagne (P. salicina):    A deep red skinned, large sized plum with yellow flesh.  It ripens early, and its fruit are juicy and aromatic with a good texture.  A medium sized tree with good resistance to disease.

Kahinta (P. salicina x P. americana):  A blue skinned, medium-large sized plum with yellow flesh.  It ripens early with a very good to excellent taste.  Its intense flesh has a spicy flavor which is more spicy than sweet.  It needs a pollinator, and is a small to medium sized tree.  It can be susceptible to brown rot, and its wood splits easily.

Morganhill:    Reddish purple skin with brown dots, this plum's flesh is greenish-yellow.  It has small sized fruit.   It ripens late with a sweet aromatic taste, and some say it has one of the best tastes.  It was introduced by Luther Burbank and is a medium sized tree.

Pearl:    A golden-yellow, medium large plum with deep yellow flesh.  It ripens mid-season on a medium sized tree.  Its flavor is very good to the best, with rich, sweet, luscious flavor and melting flesh.  Developed by Luther Burbank, it is believed to be a seedling of a Reine Claude plum.

Red Beaut (P. salicina):    Red over yellow skinned, this large fruited plum has yellow flesh.  It ripens very early with crisp flavor that is melting sub-acid and delicate.  It is a medium sized tree.

Reine Claude (Green Gage):    A green to golden yellow skinned medium-large plum with greenish-yellow flesh.  It ripens mid-season with a richness of texture and flavor and an abundance of juice and aroma.  Considered unsurpassed.  A small to medium sized tree that can be delicate and vulnerable to sunscald.

Reine Red:    Similar to Reine Claude but with red skin.

Ruby Queen (P. salicina):    A reddish black skinned, medium sized plum with dark red flesh.  It ripens mid-season with excellent sweet, balanced taste and a firm texture.  This medium sized tree requires a pollinator.

Superior (P. salicina):    A dark red skinned, medium sized plum with yellow flesh.  It ripens mid-season with very juicy, sweet, and firm flesh.   It is a large tree that may sometimes have problems with brown rot and split fruit.

Supreme (P. nigra hybrid):    A red over yellow skinned, large plum with yellow flesh.  It ripens mid-season with an excellent quality taste.  It is a medium sized tree.

Voyageur:    A dark reddish-purple skinned, medium-large plum with yellow flesh.  It ripens mid to late season and has juicy, firm, excellent taste with high sugar content.  A medium-large tree than can serve as a good pollinator forP.domestica.

Of additional interest, in an article in Mother Earth News, the author polled several growers who rated the top flavored plums to be:  

Au Rosa:    A red skinned, large plum with yellow flesh.  It ripens mid-season, and its flesh is firm and of good quality.  A medium sized tree with a winter chilling requirement of 750 hours.  It needs a pollinator and is generally well suited for the South.   

Methley:    (see above)

Purple Heart:    Dark reddish-purple skinned, medium sized plum with dark red flesh.  It ripens mid-season with firm, juicy, sweet and crisp flesh.  It is a small tree that is hardy and popular.

Shiro:    Bright yellow skinned, medium sized plum with light yellow flesh.  It ripens very early and has a pleasant taste.  Juicy, somewhat melting, sweet and mild flesh.  Medium to large sized tree that can be susceptible to brown rot.  Pollinate with a japanese type plum.  Developed by Luther Burbank.

Toka:    Blue-black skinned, large sized plum with amber flesh.  It ripens late with a mild and medium sweet flavor.  It is a medium to large sized tree that is slightly susceptible to brown rot.

Waneta:    Yellow with red blush skinned, medium to large sized plum with orange flesh.  It ripens mid-season with juicy and sweet flesh.  The skin is astringent. This small sized tree requires a pollinator.

 Other Varieties That Are Reputed To Have Very Good Flavor

Some of the other varieties reputed to have very good flavor in Richard Ashton's Plums of North America include:

Acme; Amador; Amazon; AU Amber; AU Homeside; AU Producer; Autumn Queen;.

Bavay; Black Jewel; Black Kelsey; Black Noble; Blue Bell.

Catalina; Champion; Crimson.

Duarte; Duarte Improved.

Early Transparent Gage; Eldorado; Elephant Heart; Emerald Beaut; Ersinger; Explorer.

Fiebing; Fourth of July.

Geewhiz; Geneva Mirabelle; Golden Nectar; Golden Transparent Gage; Grandoro; Green Sweet; Guthrie.

Hand; Howard Miracle.

Imperial Epineuse.

Jefferson.

Kappa; Kelsey.

La Crescent; Laroda; Longjohn.

Mammoth Cardinal; Mason Early Italian; McLaughlin; Meredith; Middleburg; Miller Superb; Mohawk; Monroe.

Newark.

Obil'naja.

Pembina; Perfection; Peters; Ptitsin 5; Purple Gage; Purple Heart.

Redheart; Reine Claude Conducta; Richards Early Italian; Rivers Delight; Royal Tours; Roysum.

Santa Rosa; Sergeant; Spaulding; Stanton; Stark MacVerna Delicious; Sugar.

Toyland; Transparent.

Valor; Vanier; Victor Large; Vision.

Washington; White Damson; Winona.

Yellow Gage.

Rootstock

When selecting your trees, it is very important to look closely at the rootstock upon which the trees are grafted.  The rootstock will dictate how large the tree will get.  You do not want to plant a tree that will get too big for the space in which you are placing it.  You will be very disappointed and, along with the additional work entailed, the additional pruning to keep its size in check may adversely impact fruit production. 

Cross-Pollination

While a few varieties are self-fertile, you are typically going to want to plant at least two varieties of plums trees to ensure proper cross-pollination and fruit set. 

Considerations When Planting

This is not intended to be a guide for planting a plum tree.  If you are looking for that kind of guidance, I recommend that you visit this link for a pretty thorough "how-to" primer.

Nevertheless, when you plant your trees, I encourage you to add compost and Mycorrhizal fungi to the backfill when you are planting.

Finally, in caring for your plum trees, I have found that the occasional spraying of Garrett Juice or compost tea seems to ward off problems for me.

Ideas on Nurseries

If you are looking for an instant orchard, your choices are limited.  Check now with your local nurseries to see what varieties they are or will be caring this Spring and in what sizes.  I typically only see 5 gallon containers in my local nurseries.

Bob Wells Nursery will often carry 5, 10, and 15 gallon trees, so you can try that.

Edible Landscaping also sometimes carries larger sized specimen.

If you are a more patient person and are willing to plant a smaller tree, there are a lot of options out there.  Some of them include:

Texas Nurseries:

Bob Wells Nursery 

Womack Nursery

Cummins Nursery

Caldwell Nursery 

 Nurseries Outside of Texas

Raintree Nursery

Trees of Antiquity

One Green World

Johnson Nursery

Chestnut Hill Tree Farm

Stark Brothers

Grandpa's Orchard

Bay Laurel Nursery

Big Horse Creek Farm

Cloud Mountain Farm

Burnt Ridge Nursery

Greenmantle Nursery

Southmeadow Fruit Gardens

Urban Homestead

If you have planted plum trees in Texas that are bearing fruit, please post a comment and share your experiences along with your favorite varieties for Texas.