Tree fruit
How to grow damsons
Prunus domestica subsp. insititia
Plant a damson between November and March where a plum would struggle: it takes wind, cold, heavier soil and light shade, and can stand in a hedgerow or a corner of rough grass. The usual varieties are self-fertile, so one tree is enough. Once established it needs very little: stake it for three years, feed lightly while young, and limit any pruning to dry days in spring or summer. Expect the first crop after three or four years. Damsons are seldom sold fresh, which is a good reason to grow your own for jam and gin.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy, the toughest stone fruit
- Position
- Full sun to light shade; tolerates exposure
- Soil
- Most soils, including heavier ground
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.0
- Water
- Low once established
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting damsons
WhenPlant Nov to Mar; blossom Apr; harvest Aug to Oct
Starting off
Plant bare-root Nov to Mar, pot-grown in spring. Trees are budded onto St Julien A or Pixy; own-root suckers of Shropshire Prune and Farleigh come true and can be lifted in winter. Shropshire Prune, Merryweather and Farleigh are self-fertile, so one tree crops alone.
Spacing and planting
Pixy rootstock 3 m, St Julien A 4 to 5 m, own-root or Brompton 5 to 6 m; damson also makes a hedgerow tree at 3 m spacing. Hole 60 cm wide, union 10 cm above soil, stake for 3 years. Not a container plant beyond a few years.
Varieties worth growing
- Shropshire Prune
- Also sold as Prune Damson. The richest, most intense flavour for jam and gin, on a small, neat tree; ripe in September.
- Merryweather
- The largest fruit, close to a small plum and mild enough to eat fresh when fully ripe; heavy crops from late August.
- Farleigh
- Small fruit in very heavy crops on a dense, tough tree that was traditionally planted as a windbreak.
- Langley Bullace
- Sold as a bullace, the damson's rounder relative, though usually classed as a late damson: ripe from late September into October, and useful where you want fruit after the main damsons finish.
Damsons month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Plant bare-root trees in open weather. Do not prune.
- February
Plant bare-root trees. Otherwise nothing to do.
- March
A light feed and a mulch for trees in their first three years. Last bare-root planting.
- April
Blossom. Shape young trees if needed, on a dry day once the buds have opened.
- May
Water trees planted last winter in dry spells.
- June
Thin only a grossly overloaded tree. Pick off any pocket plums. Any pruning of established trees is done now or in July, in dry weather.
- July
Prop heavily laden branches.
- August
Merryweather starts at the end of the month. Water young trees in drought to prevent split fruit.
- September
Main harvest. Pick with the stalk, or spread a sheet and shake the branches.
- October
Last of the damsons; bullaces follow. Remove mummified fruit.
- November
Plant bare-root trees and stake them. Lift rooted suckers from own-root trees.
- December
Plant in open weather. Check stakes and ties. Do not prune.
Feeding damsons
A light feeder. Feed for the first three years to get the tree established, then stop unless growth is poor. An established damson on reasonable soil needs nothing.
Low-to-moderate, tough and undemanding; a light spring feed.
Feeding plan
Planting, November to March
5 g per litre of root-ball volume, in contact with the roots, once: 50 g for a tree from a 10 litre pot. For a bare-root tree dust the damp roots all over.
March, years one to three
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
70 g/m², the lower end of the label, over a 1 m² circle round the trunk: 70 g per tree.
March, years one to three
Garden compost
A mulch 5 to 8 cm deep over the same circle, kept clear of the trunk and free of grass.
March, established trees only if last year's shoots grew under 20 cm
Fruit & Vegetable Fertiliser 4-5-6
70 g/m² under the canopy, once: about 490 g for a tree 3 m across (7 m²). Otherwise nothing.
Signs to watch
Split fruit
Rain after drought
Mulch 8 cm deep and water evenly in a dry August
Pale leaves and growth under 20 cm
Nitrogen short on thin soil
A light spring nitrogen feed
Older leaves yellow between the veins
Magnesium
Epsom salts or kieserite
Pests, diseases and problems
Young fruits grow long, flat and hollow with no stone, then go pale and shrivel
Pocket plum, a fungal disease of plums and damsons
Pick off and bin the deformed fruits as soon as you see them, before a white bloom develops on them. Cut out any distorted twigs. The rest of the crop is unaffected.
A silvery cast on the leaves of one limb, followed by dieback
Silver leaf, entering through cuts and breakages in the cold months
Keep pruning to a minimum and do it only in dry weather between late spring and August. Remove the affected limb to 15 cm past any dark staining in the wood.
Flattened, sunken areas of bark with blobs of amber gum; shot holes in the leaves
Bacterial canker
Cut out in summer to clean wood. Protect young trunks from strimmer and mower damage, which is a common way in.
Leaves curled in spring, or coated in pale grey waxy aphids and sticky honeydew in summer
Leaf-curling plum aphid early on, mealy plum aphid later
Established trees shrug both off. Leave them for birds, ladybirds and hoverflies; squash colonies on young trees.
Fruit browns and rots on the tree, with buff pustules
Brown rot
Remove rotten fruit as you pick and take down any mummified fruit left on the branches in autumn.
Flower buds stripped in late winter, so little blossom follows
Bullfinches
On small trees, net from January until the buds open. Large trees usually have buds to spare.
Pruning and harvest
Pruning and care
Established trees need almost nothing. Thin only a grossly overloaded tree, prop heavy branches, and renovate neglected trees over 3 summers rather than in one cut.
Harvest and storage
Ripe Aug to Oct when blue-black under a grey bloom and the flesh gives slightly; pick with the stalk or spread a sheet and shake the branches. First crop 3 to 4 years; 10 to 30 kg from a young tree, far more from an old standard. Keeps a week in the fridge; freeze whole, or make jam, cheese and damson gin.
Good to knowHardier and more tolerant than plum and usually self-fertile, so it's a good choice for colder gardens.
Growing damsons in pots
A damson is not a plant for a pot beyond its first few years. It wants to make a proper tree, and it crops best when left alone with its roots in open ground. If you only have a patio, a plum or gage on Pixy rootstock is the better choice for a container. Where space in the ground is short, a damson on Pixy can be kept to about 3 m.
Damsons: common questions
What is the difference between a damson and a plum?
A damson is a small, oval, blue-black relative of the plum with sharp, astringent flesh that is nearly always cooked. The tree is hardier than a plum, tolerates wind, cold and heavier soil, and needs less feeding and pruning.
Can you eat damsons raw?
Yes, fully ripe damsons are safe to eat raw, but most are too sharp to enjoy. Merryweather is the mildest. Cooking with sugar brings out the flavour, which is why damsons go into jam, damson cheese, crumbles and gin.
Do damson trees need pruning?
Very little: an established damson needs only dead, broken or crossing branches removed. Do it on a dry day between late spring and August, never in winter, because cuts made in the cold months let in silver leaf.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.