Our Variety Assessment

Its strengths, growing requirements and the conditions in which it performs best.

I mainly value Early Laxton for its season. It gives proper European plums from late July, several weeks before many of the classic late-summer cultivars. The fruit is juicy and pleasantly sweet rather than exceptionally rich, and heavy crops are worth thinning to protect the branches and improve fruit size.

Early Laxton

Price range: 26,50 € through 64,50 €

One of the earliest European plums, producing yellow fruit heavily flushed pink-red with sweet, juicy golden flesh. A productive dual-purpose English cultivar for eating and cooking.

Choose your tree form

1 year old grafted tree – approx. 1–2 m

Half-standard – 1 to 1.5 m stem

Standard tree – 1.8 m stem and over

Prunus rootstock options

Myrobolan - mature height : 4 à 6m.

St-Julien A, - mature height : 3m.

Wavit, taille adulte 3m, meilleur calibre.

Clear

Tree size guide

Tree Establishment Guarantee — We support you if your tree fails to establish. View the conditions

SKU: 30317 Category: Plum trees

Description

Plum ‘Early Laxton’ is an old English cultivar of Prunus domestica raised by Laxton Bros. of Bedford and introduced in 1916.

The fruit is small to medium-sized and oval, with a yellow ground colour becoming heavily spotted and flushed pink, red and sometimes violet as it ripens. The golden-yellow flesh is juicy, sweet and pleasantly flavoured. It is a useful dual-purpose plum, enjoyable fresh from the tree but equally suitable for jam, preserves and cooking.

Its main advantage is earliness. ‘Early Laxton’ is usually ready from late July into early August, making it one of the first European plums of the season. The fruit is relatively delicate and can bruise or drop when fully ripe, so timely harvesting is worthwhile.

The tree grows strongly when young but comes into bearing early, after which growth becomes more moderate and the crown develops a broader, somewhat spreading shape. Cropping can be very heavy and overloaded branches may need thinning or support. Current National Fruit Collection records describe ‘Early Laxton’ as self-fertile, although older references are not completely consistent on this point.

Variety characteristics

Variety origin

Raised by Laxton Bros. of Bedford, England, and introduced in 1916 after receiving an RHS Award of Merit.

Origin

England

Period of origin

1900 - 1949

Flowering

3 - mid season

Harvest period

August 1-15, July 15-31

Eating / keeping period

1 week

Use

Cooking, Fresh eating

Sweetness / acidity

Disease resistance

Self-fertility

Pollinator value

Origin and identity

Parentage

Parentage uncertain. Jaune Hâtive x Early Orleans is one published parentage, but historical records are inconsistent.

Synonyms

Bleue de Perk, Bleue de Bergues, Belgian Purple

Growth and adaptation

Vigour and habit

Strong-growing when young, then more moderate after early cropping. Crown becomes broad and spreading and heavily laden branches can bend or break.

Quince compatibility

‘Bleue de Belgique’ is an old variety traditionally grown in Belgium and northern France, valued for its hardiness and abundant crops.

The medium to large plum is oval, almost round and sometimes slightly irregular. Its thin skin turns dark bluish purple when ripe and is covered with a heavy pale bloom.

The greenish-yellow flesh is initially firm, becoming melting, exceptionally juicy and pleasantly aromatic. Its flavour is richly sweet, balanced by a light acidity that provides freshness. The stone generally separates well when the fruit is fully ripe.

Harvest takes place mainly around mid-August and may continue over several weeks depending on the climate and exposure. The fruit has a short storage life and should be eaten or processed soon after picking.

‘Bleue de Belgique’ is a good dessert plum and is also very well suited to tarts, compotes, jams, preserves and fruit brandies.

The tree is vigorous and hardy, begins cropping fairly quickly and is generally highly productive. It initially forms a fairly upright crown, becoming more spreading with age. As heavily laden branches can become brittle, balanced pruning and occasional fruit thinning help reduce the risk of breakage.

The variety is partially self-fertile and produces good-quality pollen. It can crop alone, although another European plum flowering at the same time will generally improve fruit set and the abundance of the harvest.