My blue plums were still on the trees a few years ago but ripe when we had several days below freezing. When I checked the damage after the storm they were all frozen solid. So I picked, bagged, and went right in the freezer. They keep very well, I'm still u s ing them. Only problem is when thawed they turn to mush and don't have a lot of flavor. My favorite way to preserve them is to can with the pits. It imparts a cherry flavor into the fruit th a t is delicious. Otherwise I eat fresh or dried and they keep well in the fridge. Just e-mail your hubby to pick them in a week or so.

Here is what I have saved - many come from others postings from this forum- Ginger-Pear Preserves 6 cups cubed ripe Bosc or Bartlett pears (about 1 3/4 pounds) 3/4 cup chopped seeded lemon (1 large) 1/4 cup pera-flavored liqueur 1 to 2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger 4 cups sugar 1/2 cup water 1. Combine first 4 ingredients in a large saucepan. Stir in sugar and water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand 12 hours (do not refrigerate). 2. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until thick, stirring occassionally. Place 1 cup preserves into each of 4 sterilized 8-oz. jars Honey Pear Jam 2 lg Firm-ripe pears; cored and diced 1/2 c ;water 1/4 c Lemon juice 1/4 c Pear eau-de-vie 1/4 ts Cinnamon 1/4 ts Clove powder 1/4 ts Nutmeg 1/2 c Honey 1 pinch Salt Combine all ingredients except honey and salt in a saucepan. Cook 5 min over high heat, stirring. Reduce heat to medium and cook 25 min, stirring occasionally. Add honey and salt. Cook 15 min, stirring, until the right texture is obtained. Store in a non-reactive container in the fridge for up to 2 mos. Honey Plum Jam 3 c Pitted and coarsely chopped purple plums 1/3 c Sugar 1/3 c Water 2 tb Lemon juice 2 tb Liquid honey Combine the plums, sugar, water and lemon juice in saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, but maintain boil. Stir and mash occasionally with back of spoon for about 15 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in honey. Allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate in tightly covered jars for up to 2 weeks. Pear Honey 8 cups of peeled, cored, and chopped pears 8 cups of sugar 1cup of unsweetened pineapple juice Cook all ingredients until the color and consistency of honey is achieved. It says to process the final product in a BWB for 10 minutes. I also have experimented with pears poached in red wine- I originally got the idea from Victrola a few years ago- basically wine cooked with lemon (later removed) and various spices and sugar- then cook the pears until tender in the wine. I've used white merlot with homeade glogg and also reiseling I beleive with Amaretto and vanilla. A cinnamon stick in each jar and a few allspice berries, cloves, peppercorns, etc. Later I reheat the pears and then thicken the juice with corn starch and pour over ice cream or pound cake. I don't really have a specific recipe- its a work in progress, but these always go over well.

I'm also thinking that possibly a small boring insect has made it's way into that branch. The entire tree is very healthy and loaded with fruit. It's just that branch which has curled in foliage. I know what aphid damage looks like. The leaves are often curled in and crinkly in appearance. I did see one or two green winging aphids, but otherwise that branch was pest free. I know it's not Plum Pox either, that is a rare disease around this region. I should tell my friend to remove that one branch. I think she's worried it may be a disease or the start of one. Thanks for all of your advise. Cheers, Joe

Looks like my Italian plum has shot hole. I've had the tree fours years, there's one new plum on it this year (my first) but...the leaves are holey (and its only June). From what I can find its shot hole. Everything seems to say spray in the fall but it's late spring(?) no and I'm not sure what to do right now. I'm not concerned with fruit this year. Is there something I can spray it with right now? Many thanks