Brookgold x Waneta multi-graft plum
These plum trees have two varieties grafted onto the same rootstock. You may have seen 4-in-1 (or more) fruit trees - in my experience these rarely perform very well. One or two varieties easily outgrow the others, and it can get crowded. This is my toned-down version of a multi-graft tree, where the two varieties can grow into their own side-by-side trees.
These varieties require cross-pollination to make fruit, and Brookgold & Waneta cross-pollinate each other, so these trees are good for those who only have room for one tree.
Brookgold:
Brookgold is named for the golden colour of its skin and flesh, as well as the research station where it was developed – the Crop Diversification Centre South, near Brooks, Alberta. It is an early season freestone plum that is very cold hardy - said to handle zone 2a.
Waneta:
Waneta is a large, delicious disease-resistant plum with maroon skin and orange, clingstone flesh. It ripens midseason, and is cold hardy to at least zone 4.
A University of Wisconsin article declares Waneta to be “one of the best all-around, all-purpose American plums for the last 100 years.”
Waneta parentage: It is a hybrid of a Japanese plum and a native plum - Apple (not an apple! A Japanese plum named Apple) x Terry (a large American plum). Waneta is named after an influential Yanktonai chief (the Yanktonai are part of the Dakota nation, from what is now called Minnesota) who fought in the War of 1812.
Rootstock: Myrobalan 29C.
References:
Waneta in Plant Introductions of 1927.
University of Wisconsin article on Japanese-American Hybrid Plums.
Brookgold image: Centre Jardin Lac Pelletier.
Waneta image: FedCo Seeds.
