Coe's Golden Drop gage trees

Prunus domestica

Coe's Golden Drop is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators

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Picking season: Very late Late October
Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
Flowering group: 2

Coe's Golden Drop is a traditional yellow English gage-like plum, with a very good rich sweet gage-like flavour, but some balancing sharpness. It is widely regarded as one of the best-flavoured of all English plums.

The attractive yellow free-stone plums are valuable for both dessert and culinary use. This versatility, combined with its excellent flavour and large size make it a particularly desirable plum tree for the keen fruit grower.

Coe's Golden Drop organic gage trees for sale

11 yeartree on St. Julien A rootstock23.25€
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
Sold-out
21 yeartree on Myrobalan rootstock23.25€
Very large tree (5m-6m+ after 10 years) Bare-root
Sold-out
3Half-standard (2 years)tree on St. Julien A rootstock34.00€
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
Collection only - contact us
4Standard (2 years)tree on St. Julien A rootstock49.00€
Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years) Bare-root
Collection only - contact us

EU delivery countries

Click here to view estimated delivery charges. Our 2-year trees and some pot-grown trees are too big or unsuitable for mail-order and are only available for collection direct from the nursery. Please contact us if you wish to order.

Growing and Training

Coe's Golden Drop is not as easy to grow as most plums. It is quite fussy about its situation - it does best in a sheltered location or trained on a south-facing wall.

The tree is generally healthy and can be quite vigorous on good soils. Cropping is very variable - it is best to assume it will be light, although if the tree likes where you have planted it then cropping can be very good. Pollination is important for best results with this variety - it is not self-fertile so make sure you have a couple of other (different) European plum varieties growing nearby.

This is essentially a variety for the plum enthusiast, who will, in a good year, be rewarded with perhaps the most refined of English plums.

History

Coe's Golden Drop was raised by Jervaise Coe, a market gardener from Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, at the end of the 18th century. Mr Coe stated that it was seedling tree, most likely from an Old Green Gage stone pollinated by a White Magnum Bonum plum tree growing nearby.

Coe's Golden Drop characteristics

Gardening skillExperienced
Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
Flowering group2
Disease resistanceAverage
Picking seasonVery late - Late October
Season of use1 week - Keeps fresh in a fridge longer than most plums.
Food usesEating freshCulinary
Summer average maximum temperaturesCool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)Warm (25-30C / 76-85F)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Period of origin1800 - 1849
Fruit colourYellow