Is Blue Damson plum self-fertile or self-sterile?

Blue Damson Plum is a self-fertile cultivar. It sets a crop with its own pollen and does not strictly require companion pollinizers, though interplanting with overlapping bloom cultivars can enhance fruit set and yield stability.

Can Blue Damson act as a pollen donor for other plums?

Yes. Blue Damson Plum produces viable, fertile pollen that readily cross-pollinates other compatible plum varieties flowering across its bloom window.

Which bloom group does Blue Damson plum belong to?

Blue Damson Plum flowers in Bloom Group 3 (Mid-Spring). It reliably cross-pollinates with compatible cultivars in its own group or immediately adjacent groups (±1 bloom group).

Which plum pollination pool does Blue Damson belong to?

Blue Damson Plum belongs to Pool A (European plum, gage and damson). A compatible pollen partner must flower in the same or an adjacent bloom group and belong to the same pool. European and Japanese plum pools do not cross-pollinate.

Curated Pomology Guide · Bloom Group 3

Blue Damson Plum
Pollination & Compatibility Guide

Blue Damson pollination guide: self-fertile Pool A status, Group 3 bloom and planning for small culinary fruit.

Pomological Verdict & Botanical Profile

Blue Damson is Self-Fertile (Pool A)

Sets Alone · Same-Pool Partners Only

Blue Damson will set a crop planted on its own. A nearby partner can still lift fruit set.

Pollination Pool / Ploidy: Pool A · Hexaploid (functional diploid)
Required Companions: 0 (Self-Fertile)
Bloom Group: Group 3 (Mid-Spring)
Harvest Timing: Mid-Late Season

Primary Uses:CookingPreserves

General Notes: Hardy; tolerant of poor soils

Flowering Period & Overlap Window

Plum bloom groups run from 1 to 5. A useful partner flowers in the same or adjacent group and belongs to the same pollination pool. European plums, gages and damsons are Pool A; Japanese plums and prairie hybrids are Pool B. A tree from one pool cannot pollinate the other.

Flowering Overlap Range for Blue Damson

Early Overlap

Group 2

Blue Damson

Group 3

Late Overlap

Group 4

For Blue Damson, select a compatible plum in the same pollination pool flowering from Group 2 to 4; bloom overlap alone does not bridge Pool A and Pool B.

Compatible Pollination Partners (9)

Test in Checker

Cultivar	Bloom Group	Overlap Type	Harvest	Primary Uses	Interactive Test
Victoria (European)Guide	Group 3	Full Overlap	Mid-Late	Fresh Eating, Canning, Jam	Test Cross
French Prune (Agen)Guide	Group 3	Full Overlap	Late	Drying (Prune), Cooking	Test Cross
Italian Prune (Fellenberg)Guide	Group 3	Full Overlap	Late	Prune, Drying, Canning	Test Cross
Opal (European)Guide	Group 3	Full Overlap	Early	Fresh Eating	Test Cross
Stanley (European)Guide	Group 3	Full Overlap	Mid-Late	Prune, Fresh Eating, Canning	Test Cross
Cambridge GageGuide	Group 4	Full Overlap	Mid	Fresh Eating	Test Cross
President (European)Guide	Group 4	Full Overlap	Late	Fresh Eating, Storage	Test Cross
Damson (Shropshire)Guide	Group 4	Full Overlap	Late	Cooking, Jam, Jelly	Test Cross
Mirabelle de Nancy (European)Guide	Group 4	Full Overlap	Mid	Fresh Eating, Brandy (Eau de Vie)	Test Cross

Incompatible Varieties & Exclusions (5)

These cultivars cannot serve as pollinizers for Blue Damson because of a different plum pollination pool, a documented incompatibility or another exclusion in the source data.

Green Gage (Reine Claude)Guide

plum incompatibility groups are only partly mapped, so only cultivars documented as reliable donors are offered. Green Gage (Reine Claude) is not one of them — that is a gap in the data, not evidence it is incompatible.

Imperial Epineuse (Prune)

plum incompatibility groups are only partly mapped, so only cultivars documented as reliable donors are offered. Imperial Epineuse (Prune) is not one of them — that is a gap in the data, not evidence it is incompatible.

Jefferson (European)Guide

plum incompatibility groups are only partly mapped, so only cultivars documented as reliable donors are offered. Jefferson (European) is not one of them — that is a gap in the data, not evidence it is incompatible.

Moyer Supreme (Prune)

plum incompatibility groups are only partly mapped, so only cultivars documented as reliable donors are offered. Moyer Supreme (Prune) is not one of them — that is a gap in the data, not evidence it is incompatible.

Yellow Egg Plum (European)

plum incompatibility groups are only partly mapped, so only cultivars documented as reliable donors are offered. Yellow Egg Plum (European) is not one of them — that is a gap in the data, not evidence it is incompatible.

Grower Commentary: Blue Damson in a Mixed Plum Block

Blue Damson is a self-fertile Pool A damson in Group 3. It can crop on its own and may share pollen with European plums where bloom windows overlap. This makes a boundary row useful in a mixed Pool A planting, provided trees are close enough for insect movement and flowering dates coincide. A Japanese plum is Pool B and remains an unsuitable partner even if both trees are labelled plum.

Damsons are generally grown for cooking or preserving, and their small fruit changes the labour calculation. Before planting a long boundary, decide whether hand picking, processing capacity and access along the row are realistic. Watch load after natural drop: a dense set can leave very small fruit and strain branches, yet indiscriminate thinning of a processing crop may remove more value than it saves.

St Julien A offers a manageable bush or hedge on many heavier sites; Myrobalan seedlings can produce uneven vigour and much larger trees. Keep the row from shading neighbouring dessert plums, and leave enough air movement to dry foliage and fruit after rain. Damson self-fertility protects against missing pollen, but neither it nor a partner protects open flowers in a frost pocket.