Plums are a brilliant and unusual fruit tree; what other tree has a whole host of online articles telling you how to support the branches when there’s too much fruit weighing them down? We know, however, that this can also seem like a daunting prospect. What if you don’t have that much space in your garden? Or you accidentally buy a cooking plum when you wanted to eat them raw? You’ll be living with your plum tree for many years, so it’s really important to get it right. We collected together your most frequently asked questions and put them to our growers: here’s what they said.

How big will my plum tree grow?

Plum trees are usually grown on St Julien A rootstocks which means they will naturally grow to a height of 4.5-5m (unless they’re pruned to fit a smaller space). This size is perfect for a large or medium garden.

If that sounds like a lot of garden space to devote to one tree, choose one of the patio varieties grown on Pixy rootstocks like 'Victoria' plum, or go for a cordon tree. These trees are especially-trained to grow in a very slender form, so they won’t take up too much space. Learn how to train a 'Victoria' plum.

Which is the best variety of plum for me?

It depends what you want to use your fruit for. If you want plums primarily for eating, the best-flavoured varieties are considered to be 'Jubilee', 'Opal', 'Old Greengage' and 'Imperial Gage'.

For cooking, jams and preserves, the best options are 'Mirabelle Golden Sphere' and any damson variety. Or hedge your bets with a dual purpose variety - they include 'Oullins Golden Gage', 'Victoria', 'Cambridge Gage' and 'Mirabelle de Nancy' and they’re good for both purposes.

What's the difference between plums, gages and damsons?

Plums, gages and damsons are all members of the Prunus domestica family. They look similar but differ slightly from one another. Plums are large, soft-fleshed and can be used for eating or cooking, depending on the variety. They’re easy to grow. Gages are smaller, rounder and sweeter for eating but need more sun than plums. Damsons are very easy to grow, have a tart flavour and are best for cooking and jam.

Do I need a self-fertile plum tree?

Some plum trees can fruit without another tree to pollinate them, but some do need another plum nearby to do this for them. In theory this means that if you only plant one plum tree, it should be a self-fertile variety.

However, it’s very unlikely (unless you live in a remote area) that there won’t be another plum tree within a mile of you, so you don’t need to worry about this one. If you do live in a remote area, self-fertile varieties include 'Victoria' plum and 'Farleigh' damson.

When can I harvest the fruit?

This is an important question - after all, if you always go on holiday in August (which is when most plum trees fruit) you don’t want the crop to go to waste. Luckily some varieties fruit earlier - you’ll start to see fruit from 'Opal' in July - or later. For a later crop in September, choose a 'Merryweather' damson, 'Old Greengage', 'Cambridge' gage or 'Mirabelle de Nancy' plum.

And how long will you have to wait for your tree’s first fruit? Plums and gages will produce a crop within three years (one to two years for smaller dwarfing varieties) while Damsons may take between three and five - however, it's worth the wait!

If you found this guide useful, you might also like:

• What Is a Rootstock?
• How To Train a Victoria Plum Tree?
• How To Train a Fruit Tree