Plum, Long John, Bare Root

Long John Plum (Prunus domestica ‘Longjohn’)

Long John is a European prune-type plum with large, elongated blue-purple fruit and firm amber flesh. Its sweetness and freestone texture make it useful fresh, dried, and cooked.

Key Characteristics

A distinctive elongated plum

The fruit is long and tapered rather than round like many Japanese plums. Its firm amber flesh has a sweet flavor and releases readily from the stone when ripe.

A useful drying and kitchen fruit

Long John can be eaten fresh or dried into prunes. Its texture also suits baked dishes and preserving when you want fruit with some structure.

A European-plum pollination plan

Long John is partly self-fruitful, but Stanley improves the planting’s cropping potential. Keep this European pairing separate from pollination recommendations for Japanese and hardy hybrid plums.

Pollination Partners

Partly self-fruitful, with better cropping when a compatible European plum such as Stanley Prune flowers nearby. Japanese and hybrid plums should not replace this European-plum partner. Cross-pollination depends on overlapping bloom, not matching harvest months.

Rootstock and Mature Size

The Mariana 2624 rootstock provides some size control. Plan for approximately 12–16 feet with regular orchard pruning; unpruned trees can grow taller. Keep the graft union above soil level and remove rootstock suckers.

Product Details

• Sun: Full sun to light partial shade; full sun is best for fruiting.
• Soil: medium to medium-dry, well-drained soil; avoid standing water.
• Mature height: Approximately 12–16 feet with orchard pruning; unpruned trees can grow taller.
• Bloom: Early to mid-spring; white flowers.
• Fruit: Large elongated blue-purple plums with sweet, firm amber freestone flesh.
• Uses: Fresh eating, drying for prunes, baking, and preserves.
• Ripening: August–September
• Chill hours: A dependable cultivar-specific chill-hour requirement is not established.
• Pollination: Partly self-fruitful; Stanley Prune is a compatible European partner.
• USDA hardiness: Zones 4–8.

General Plum Orchard Guidance

A good start

Choose well-drained soil and enough room for the mature tree. Water consistently while roots establish, mulch with space around the trunk, and keep vigorous grass and other competitors away from the young root zone.

Fertility and fruit-tree guilds

Use a soil test to guide lime and fertilizer rather than feeding heavily by default. Our Tree Planting Kit fertilizer blend is an optional planting supplement; keep concentrated fertilizer away from bare roots and avoid excess nitrogen.

Interested in permaculture and stacking functions around your fruit trees? Explore our fruit-tree guild guide for ideas on combining plants for flowers, ground cover, and mulch while giving your tree room to grow.

Practical pest and disease care

Thin crowded fruit to improve size and protect branches, prune for airflow in dry weather, and remove fallen or mummified fruit. Monitor for brown rot, plum curculio, and black knot where it occurs. Early sanitation and fruit bags where practical can reduce problems; protect bees during bloom.