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Simple bare root fruit trees and ornamental trees

Blue Tit

Prunus domestica
Blue Tit plums
Blue Tit has received the RHS Award of Garden MeritBlue Tit is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators

Blue Tit is a popular English garden dual-purpose plum. It is perhaps easiest to think of it is as a more refined version of Czar, one of its parents. It inherits that variety's reliability, self-fertility and good croppping, as well as its excellent culinary properties.

However its other parent is Green Gage, arguably the best flavored of all plums, and some of that gage-like flavour is apparent in Blue Tit when fully ripe.

Blue Tit plum trees for sale

  • 1-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

Growing and Training

Whilst its Czar parentage may suggest it can be grown in almost any situation, it is worth remembering that its other parent is the more temperamental Green Gage, and to get the best out of Blue Tit it helps to provide a more sheltered sunny situation if you can - although Blue Tit is in most respects very reliable and easy to grow.


Recommended pollinators for Blue Tit plum trees

Blue Tit 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 Victoria
    Victoria
    Victoria is the definitive English plum, attractive fruit, good for eating, outstanding flavour for cooking.
  • Pollinator Opal
    Opal
    Opal is an early plum variety with a good flavour, self-fertile and very easy to grow.
  • Pollinator Marjorie's Seedling
    Marjorie's Seedling
    Marjorie's Seedling is an easy to grow, late-season, heavy cropping purple/black plum.
  • Pollinator Yellow Pershore
    Yellow Pershore
    Also known as Yellow Egg, Yellow Pershore is a self-fertile heavy cropping culinary plum.
  • Pollinator Purple Pershore
    Purple Pershore
    Very similar to Yellow Pershore and with the same excellent culinary qualities.
  • Pollinator Oullins Golden Gage
    Oullins Golden Gage
    The flavour of a true gage yet also easy to grow, Oullins Golden Gage is a good first gage tree.
  • Pollinator Hauszwetsche German Prune
    Hauszwetsche German Prune
    Hauszwetsche is a damson-like Quetsche or Zwetsche plum, ideal for German-style cakes and desserts.

History

Bue Tit was developed by the Laxton Brothers nursery in Bedford in the 1930s. Blue Tit is a cross between Czar and Green Gage.


Blue Tit characteristics

  • Gardening skillBeginner
  • Fruit persistenceNormal ripening
  • Self-fertile?Self-fertile
  • Pollinating othersAverage
  • Pick seasonMid
  • Picking periodmid-August
  • Keeping1-3 days
  • Food usesEating freshCulinary
  • Country of originUnited Kingdom
  • Period of origin1900 - 1949
  • Fruit colourBlue - dark

You might also like these varieties

  • See also Herman
    Herman
    Herman is one of the best quality early-season plum varieties, blue/purple with yellow flesh.
  • 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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