Mirabelle tree, mirabelle plums – planting, care and cutting

Due to their relatively small size, mirabelle plums are also suitable for growing in smaller gardens. When buying, you should opt for self-fruiting varieties, as otherwise a corresponding pollen donor is required. When choosing a location, one should take into account that the crown of the mirabelle tree becomes wider over the years and can ultimately reach a width of 3-4 m. You should calculate a space requirement of about 20 square meters for a tree.

Can be planted in autumn and early spring, from October to April. Bare-root and container plants are available in stores. Bare-rooted goods take a little longer to grow, but they usually grow better than container goods.

Before planting, the soil should be thoroughly loosened and enriched with compost. Then a planting hole is dug, which should be twice as deep and wide as the root ball.

Once the hole has been dug, it is advisable to set a stake to which the tree can then be tied. The stake supports the tree as it grows and ensures that it grows straight.

Then the tree is placed in the planting hole and filled with excavated material. It is important to ensure that the finishing point is above the ground. Shake the tree lightly several times during the filling process so that voids in the ground close and the tree is firmly in place. Finally, just step on the earth lightly and tie the tree.

Location
requirements The mirabelle plum should be planted in a sheltered, sunny and warm location. In addition, a place should be chosen that is protected from late frosts, as the flowers of the mirabelle plum are very sensitive to it.
The soil should be loose, slightly moist, rich in nutrients, humus and calcareous with a pH value between 6.5 and 7. A layer of bark mulch can ensure that the soil does not dry out.

Water and fertilize

• The mirabelle tree should be watered regularly.
• Especially the first time after planting and in the case of persistent drought.
• Later on, the tree can take care of itself very well, except in particularly dry and hot summers.
• Occasionally compost can be used as fertilizer.

To cut

Parenting
pruning Young trees should be pruned to encourage upright, vigorous growth. In addition, a balanced crown shape should be achieved by choosing a few well-positioned guide branches. The crown should never grow too tight so that sufficient light and air can get inside.

On the sides of the young mirabelle plum tree, a few side branches are selected that are to be raised to become leading branches, which then form the basis for fruit-bearing branches. These should branch off from the trunk and be as evenly spaced as possible from it. Several branches that are roughly at the same height are ideal. Shoots that grow inward or are too close to others should be regularly removed from these main branches.

Rejuvenation pruning
A rejuvenation pruning is usually a radical pruning, especially for trees that have been neglected for a long time. In adult trees, appropriate pruning ensures that they are kept healthy, retain their shape and develop new fruit shoots.

The best time to cut is after the harvest. The longer the tree has not been cut, the more strong branches have to be removed. The same applies to any branches that are too close. One should be removed from parallel branches (competing shoots). Trunk shoots below the main branches and root shoots should also be cut away regularly.

Typical leading branches must be retained or shortened as well as fruit wood and secondary branches. The entire crown should be evenly exposed and ventilated after the cut.

After a strong pruning, a correspondingly strong budding is expected in the following year. As a result, regular clearing is recommended over the next few years.

What else to look out for when cutting

• Do not leave any branch stumps on the tree when cutting!
• Always start pruning immediately after a bud!
• Do not cut flush or parallel to the trunk!
• Astring must be retained and must not be cut off.
• Fruit branches should not become too thick to avoid major cuts.
• Branches on leading branches that grow inward should be removed.
• Crossing branches are cut back.
• More than a fifth of all branches should not be removed at once!
• Only shorten branches a little with an undercut and an overcut (relief cut).
• This prevents the branches from breaking out.
• Higher and steeper branches usually grow better.
• Branches at an angle of 60 degrees are particularly strong.

Multiply

The mirabelle plum can be increased, among other things, by so-called grafting behind the bark, a form of refinement. The branches used for this on the base should ideally have a diameter of 2-6 cm. Before grafting, the tree to be grafted should be cut back. A sufficient number of so-called guests should be retained.

If only part of the tree is to be grafted, the pruning can be limited to a few branches. For grafting, vines and an appropriate base are required on which the vines can grow and develop new shoots. The tree that is used as a base should be healthy and by no means too old. The plum is very suitable as a base for the mirabelle plum.

Cut and store precious veins

In frost-free weather, between December and January, the corresponding noble vines are cut from the desired noble variety with 4-5 eyes. Edelreiser are a few centimeters long, pencil-thick sections of annual shoots. The interfaces of the branches should then be coated with tree wax to minimize evaporation.
Then they are either kept in a cool cellar, in a container filled with damp sand or on a damp cellar floor, where they are covered with moss, until about mid-April. A relative humidity of 90 percent would be ideal.

It is also possible to store it in the refrigerator at temperatures of 1-2 degrees in a plastic bag together with damp moss. But you can also put them outdoors up to halfway into a 40 cm deep pit with moist sand and cover with sand and spruce branches.

Graft

The sap begins to flow around the middle of April, so that the bark on the base can be loosened very easily, which is a prerequisite for ‘grafting behind the bark’. At the lower end of the noble leaf, a special finishing knife is used to make a 3-5 cm long smooth cut in one go. The cut surface should be absolutely flat.
At the so-called graft head, the stump load sawn into the base for refinement, the bark is now cut to the same length as the bark and the bark carefully loosened. The tissue under the bark allows the rice and the base to grow together later. The rice is then pushed cut surface after cut surface from above behind the bark. Now the refinement point is firmly connected with bast and, including the end of the vines, is spread or sealed with tree wax.

Diseases and pests

When buying mirabelle plums you should always choose varieties that have a certain resistance to various fungal diseases and pests, otherwise mirabelle plums can be attacked by a variety of different diseases and pests.

Sharka disease Sharka
disease is caused by a virus that is transmitted by aphids and manifests itself in the mirabelle plum as white-brown rings or spots on both the leaves and the fruits.
As with many other viral diseases, direct control is not possible. In order to prevent possible infestation, you should give preference to healthy trees from the nursery when buying.

Shotgun disease
On young leaves, round red-brown spots appear which later become holes. As the process progresses, the leaves dry up and fall off in summer. The lower parts of the tree are often particularly heavily infested. Sometimes a slight flow of rubber can be observed.

With a regular clearing cut, a moderate fertilization and a free stand you can prevent an infestation if necessary. Approved pesticides can be used for control.

Monilia fruit rot
This disease is caused by fungi and usually occurs immediately after flowering. The fruits have rot spots that spread relatively quickly over the entire fruit. Brownish spots with round yellowish-brown rings are formed.

Combating with chemical pesticides is usually forbidden in the home garden. In any case, infected fruits should be regularly collected and disposed of. In addition, preventive measures should be taken to ensure that the treetop does not become too dense.

Frost-wrench
An infestation with the frost-wrench can first be recognized in spring by feeding spots on shoot tips and young leaves. From mid-May on, the small green larvae (caterpillars) of the frost moth, an inconspicuous little butterfly, can be seen.

To protect endangered trees and shrubs, it is advisable to attach glue rings to the trees or trunk as well as to any support posts. If the glue rings are dry or dirty, they should be replaced. The whole thing should be repeated in February and a new glue ring should be attached above the place of the old glue ring.
Control with appropriate pesticides is also possible. These should be sprayed shortly after the buds have broken, when the small green caterpillars have hatched and can be seen on the young leaves.

Aphids
An infestation of the mirabelle plum with aphids causes the still young leaves to curl up and cripple. The aphids can also transmit the dangerous sharka disease. If the infestation is still low, natural predators such as hover flies can be used.

Usually, however, this is not enough, so that appropriate pesticides have to be sprayed. If you want to do without chemical agents, you can also try a self-made brew of nettles and water, which usually works very well.

Red spider
The red spider is also known as the fruit tree spider mite. An infestation can be recognized by the leaves turning yellow, curling up and finally falling off.

Natural predators such as predatory bugs (Typhlodromus pyri), predatory mites, lacewings or ladybirds can be very helpful in combating red spiders. Infested parts of the plant should also be removed and falling leaves and fallen leaves should be removed regularly. Various chemical control agents can also be used.

Conclusion
Mirabelle trees produce very tasty fruits. When buying, you should therefore pay attention to resistant varieties in order to prevent diseases and pests as best as possible and to determine whether the varieties are self-pollinating or non-pollinating. Otherwise, the mirabelle plum is a relatively undemanding wood.