Is Santa Rosa plum self-fertile or self-sterile?

Santa Rosa Japanese Plum is a self sterile cultivar. It is self-sterile and requires 1 compatible pollination partner flowering within Bloom Groups 1–3 to achieve a reliable commercial fruit set.

Can Santa Rosa act as a pollen donor for other plums?

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

Which bloom group does Santa Rosa plum belong to?

Santa Rosa Japanese Plum flowers in Bloom Group 2 (Early-Spring). It reliably cross-pollinates with compatible cultivars in its own group or immediately adjacent groups (±1 bloom group).

Which plum pollination pool does Santa Rosa belong to?

Santa Rosa Japanese Plum belongs to Pool B (Japanese plum and hybrids). 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 2

Santa Rosa Japanese Plum
Pollination & Compatibility Guide

Santa Rosa Japanese plum pollination: Pool B, Group 2 bloom, partial set in warm climates and partner planning.

Pomological Verdict & Botanical Profile

Santa Rosa Needs a Compatible Pool B Partner

Same-Pool Pollen Required

Sets useful crops alone in warm climates; benefits materially from a partner — 'the other standard donor' alongside Methley. Santa Rosa (Japanese) needs at least one compatible pollinizer from bloom group 1–3 to set a reliable crop. It is often sold as self-fertile, and it will set a reduced crop alone in warm climates — but that is climate-dependent, not genetic, so plan a pollinizer.

Pollination Pool / Ploidy: Pool B · Diploid
Required Companions: 1 Compatible Partner
Bloom Group: Group 2 (Early-Spring)
Harvest Timing: Early-Mid Season

Primary Uses:Fresh Eating

Disease Resistance: Good disease resistance

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 Santa Rosa

Early Overlap

Group 1

Santa Rosa

Group 2

Late Overlap

Group 3

For Santa Rosa, select a compatible plum in the same pollination pool flowering from Group 1 to 3; bloom overlap alone does not bridge Pool A and Pool B.

Compatible Pollination Partners (3)

Test in Checker

Cultivar	Bloom Group	Overlap Type	Harvest	Primary Uses	Interactive Test
Bubblegum Plum (Toka)	Group 2	Full Overlap	Mid	Fresh Eating, Jam	Test Cross
Methley (Hybrid)Guide	Group 2	Full Overlap	Early	Fresh Eating, Jam	Test Cross
Toka (Hybrid)Guide	Group 2	Full Overlap	Mid	Fresh Eating, Jam	Test Cross

Incompatible Varieties & Exclusions (11)

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

American Plum

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

Beauty (Japanese)

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

Burbank (Japanese)Guide

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

Elephant Heart (Japanese)

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

Friar (Japanese)

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

Laroda (Japanese)

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

Ozark Premier (Hybrid)

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

Satsuma (Japanese)Guide

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

Shiro (Japanese)Guide

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

Superior (Hybrid)

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

Valiant (Hybrid)

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

Grower Commentary: Santa Rosa's Conditional Self-Set

Santa Rosa is a Pool B Japanese plum with Group 2 blossom. It may set useful fruit without a companion in warm conditions, but the engine still recommends one compatible pollinizer for dependable planning. Methley is a practical early Pool B candidate; Shiro and other Japanese plums should be checked against actual overlap. European plums remain Pool A and cannot be used to fill a gap in this block.

Do not turn partial self-set into a promise for a cool or frost-prone site. Early flowers can be damaged before pollination, and low temperatures limit bee flight even where both cultivars are open together. Compare the flowering days and fruitlet set in the same block over more than one season. A donor improves the odds of pollen delivery, while a well-drained slope protects the flowers receiving it.

Santa Rosa is also a viable pollen donor for other Pool B trees, so its position can serve more than one row if blossom overlap is real. Keep enough light in the canopy to maintain fruit quality and thin congested clusters after natural drop. For rootstock choice, match Citation to a well-drained, irrigated site or seek a stock suited to heavier ground. Confirm tree spacing with the eventual picking system.