Last spring I planted a ‘Mount Royal’ plum against the privacy fence in order to try my hand with the espalier technique. I didn’t prune and train it, as I should have, and I’m kind of glad I didn’t. We experienced a rough start to the winter, which took a toll on many trees.
I hadn’t looked at the tree yet this year until my friend, Chris, told me she thought she lost all three of her plums, incuding an established ‘Mount Royal.’ Chris is an exceptional gardener who is on top of everything that needs to be done in the garden, so if she loses something I’m very concerned.
This evening I took a closer look at the tree. While there seems to be a significant amount of damage, I’m confident most of it is alive. I need to prune and train it sometime soon, so we’ll know for sure.
