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Simple bare root fruit trees and ornamental trees

Early Transparent Gage

Prunus domestica
Early Transparent Gage plums
Early Transparent Gage is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators

Early Transparent Gage is a traditional English gage, but somewhat different from the more common green or yellow gages. It gets its name from the translucent skin and flesh - if you hold a ripe fruit up to the light you can often make out the stone inside.

Early Transparent Gage makes a good choice if you want to grow a gage which is not as fussy as the Old Green Gage. Cropping is good by gage standards (although still light compared with many plums) and it is reasonably reliable.

It has the rich sweet gage-like flavour and aroma of a genuine gage, but it is also a good culinary variety producing a well-flavoured straw-coloured jam.

Early Transparent Gage 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

By gage standards, Early Transparent Gage is quite easy to grow and the tree is a bit more vigourous than most gages. It can be grown in the north of the UK but benefits from a south-facing situation.


Recommended pollinators for Early Transparent Gage plum trees

Early Transparent Gage is self-fertile, so you do not need another variety to pollinate it to produce fruit. However you are likely to get a better crop if you plant any of the following pollinator varieties nearby. If you are not sure about pollination requirements don't hesitate to ask us. More pollinators >

  • Pollinator Czar
    Czar
    Czar is a traditional culinary plum, one of the easiest plums trees, will even fruit on north-facing walls.
  • Pollinator Jubilee
    Jubilee
    Jubilee is a new heavy-cropping dessert plum variety, similar to Victoria but larger and more reliable.
  • 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

Early Transparent Gage was raised by the famous Rivers Nursery in Hertfordshire in the 1860s, from an open-pollinated Transparent Gage (Reine Claude Diaphane). It is one of the "diaphanous" gages, on account of its translucent skin and flesh.


Early Transparent Gage characteristics

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
  • Self-fertile?Self-fertile
  • Pollinating othersAverage
  • Pick seasonMid
  • Picking periodmid-August
  • Keeping1-3 days
  • Food usesEating freshCulinaryDual purpose
  • Country of originUnited Kingdom
  • Period of origin1850 - 1899
  • Fruit colourOrange flush

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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