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Simple bare root fruit trees and ornamental trees

Coe's Golden Drop

Prunus domestica
Coe's Golden Drop plums
Coe's Golden Drop is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators

Coe's Golden Drop is a traditional yellow English plum, with a very good rich sweet gage-like flavour, but some balancing sharpness. It is widely regarded as one of the best-flavoured of all English plums.

The attractive yellow free-stone plums are valuable for both dessert and culinary use. This versatility, combined with its excellent flavour and large size make it a particularly desirable plum tree for the keen fruit grower.

Coe's Golden Drop plum trees for sale

  • RF11-year bare-root tree on St. Julien rootstock£38.75
    Mature height: 3m-5m after 10 years
    Can be trained on as a large bush-trained tree or a half-standard tree, no staking required once estalished. Also suitable as a large fan-trained tree.
    Available next season
  • RF22-year bare-root tree on St. Julien rootstock£47.50
    Mature height: 3m-5m after 10 years
    Will become a large vase-shaped fruit tree, no staking required once established.
    Available next season
  • RF32-year half-standard bare-root tree on St. Julien rootstock£51.00
    Mature height: 3m-5m after 10 years
    Can be trained on as a large free-standing half-standard tree.
    Available next season

Growing and Training

Coe's Golden Drop is not as easy to grow as most plums. It is quite fussy about its situation - it does best in a sheltered location or trained on a south-facing wall.

The tree is generally healthy and can be quite vigorous on good soils. Cropping is very variable - it is best to assume it will be light, although if the tree likes where you have planted it then cropping can be very good. Pollination is important for best results with this variety - it is not self-fertile so make sure you have a couple of other (different) European plum varieties growing nearby. 

This is essentially a variety for the plum enthusiast, who will, in a good year, be rewarded with perhaps the most refined of English plums.


Recommended pollinators for Coe's Golden Drop plum trees

Coe's Golden Drop is not self-fertile and is also a poor pollinator of other varieties. Ideally you need two other different but compatible varieties planted nearby in order to produce fruit, or one compatible self-fertile variety. The following varieties are good pollinators for Coe's Golden Drop. If you are not sure about pollination requirements don't hesitate to ask us. More pollinators >

  • Pollinator Avalon
    Avalon
    Avalon is a large mid-season red/purple plum, similar to Victoria, with a very good flavour.
  • Pollinator Denniston's Superb
    Denniston's Superb
    Denniston's Superb is a gage-like green plum, raised in New York in the 19th century.
  • Pollinator Herman
    Herman
    Herman is one of the best quality early-season plum varieties, blue/purple with yellow flesh.
  • Pollinator Marjorie's Seedling
    Marjorie's Seedling
    Marjorie's Seedling is an easy to grow, late-season, heavy cropping purple/black plum.
  • Pollinator Opal
    Opal
    Opal is an early plum variety with a good flavour, self-fertile and very easy to grow.
  • Pollinator Victoria
    Victoria
    Victoria is the definitive English plum, attractive fruit, good for eating, outstanding flavour for cooking.

History

Raised by Jervaise Coe, a market gardener from Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, at the end of the 18th century. Mr Coe stated that it was seedling tree, most likely from an Old Green Gage stone pollinated by a White Magnum Bonum plum tree growing nearby.


Coe's Golden Drop characteristics

  • Gardening skillExperienced
  • Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
  • Self-fertile?Not self-fertile
  • Pollinating othersPoor
  • Pick seasonVery late - Late October
  • Picking periodearly September
  • Keeping1 week - Keeps fresh in a fridge longer than most plums.
  • Food usesEating freshCulinary
  • Country of originUnited Kingdom
  • Period of origin1800 - 1849
  • Fruit colourYellow

You might also like these varieties

  • See also Marjorie's Seedling
    Marjorie's Seedling
    Marjorie's Seedling is an easy to grow, late-season, heavy cropping purple/black plum.
  • See also Opal
    Opal
    Opal is an early plum variety with a good flavour, self-fertile and very easy to grow.
  • See also Victoria
    Victoria
    Victoria is the definitive English plum, attractive fruit, good for eating, outstanding flavour for cooking.

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