Oullins Golden Gage

A French gage with the classic gage-like flavour, yet whereas most gages prefer warm climates, Oullins Gage also grows well in cooler climates. Rated by the noted Victorian writer Hogg as having "exquisite flavor and handsome appearance".

The fruit is large by gage standards - more like a small plum. It is a particularly attractive golden color, with faint red dots - very pretty in a fruit bowl.

Oullins Gage is equally good for fresh or culinary use. Eaten fresh, the flesh is sweet and gage-like - and far better than most shop-bought plums. For culinary use, pick slightly early when it is still firm. The flavor of Oullins Gage is also fairly consistent between seasons, and it will perform well even in a poor summer.

The stone is semi-clinging.

It is interesting to compare Oullins Gage (a gage but with some plum-like characteristics) with one of its offspring - Opal. Opal is a true plum but best considered as a gage-like plum, since it inherits some of the gage-like flavor of Oullins Gage.

Growing and Training

Compared to most gages, Oullins Gage is easy to grow and will succeed in more northerly climates than is usual for gages.

Oullins Gage has a tendency to be slow to come into bearing, and if left to its own devices it is not unusual for the tree to be 4-5 years old before it begins fruiting. The fruit is certainly worth the wait, but you can also take steps to speed things up a bit! One of the reasons for the delay in fruiting is its growth habit, which is vigorous and upright - it may help to gently tie down new side branches to give a more open appearance, and this will also encourage earlier fruiting. Similarly, once the tree has clearly established itself in your garden, be wary of over-feeding it, as it will respond by growing even more - rather than fruiting.

Oullins Gage is also a good pollinator for other mid-flowering plums and gages. Its flowering period is typically around 2 days ahead of Victoria.

History

According to the English author Hogg (writing in the 1880s), the exact origins of this variety are unknown but it was first marketed in the 1860s by M. Massot, a nurseryman from the town of Oullins, near Lyon in France.

Oullins Golden Gage characteristics

• Gardening skillBeginner
• Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
• Self-fertile?Self-fertile
• Pollinating othersGood
• Pick seasonMid - mid-August
• Picking periodmid-August
• Keeping1 week
• Food usesEating freshCulinary
• Country of originFrance
• Period of origin1850 - 1899
• Fruit colourYellow

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