Plum Trees

[wawwiz]

Last year I purchased a plum tree from the local grocery store, no leaves o n it at the time. Planted it in black clay laden soil. 1 year later I have a tree that went from 5.5 ft to 6.5 ft., didn't prune the bottom at all. I have 11 plums this year (1st year not second). One plum turned color alread y and dropped, the other 10 still green and growing in size. Question: Is it normal for a early color change on one fruit?

Also I have limbs all the way to the ground on the trunk, when should these be eliminated? Thanks in advance

[George Shirley]

Without knowing where you live and what kind of climate you have I don't think anyone can help you. The fruit that fell could have been from the first flower pollinated or could be a fruit that was not going to develop.

You can look up pruning plum trees for your area on line. Here in SE Texas I start pruning for better growth and more fruit early on. Your plum tree obviously needs to be pruned from the ground up and then opened up to allow sunlight into the interior. There are several pruning manuals that are cheap or free.