Pluot Pink Candy - Plumcot

The Pluot Pink Candy is a clever blend of a plum and an apricot. This self-fertile and productive variety produces fruits of about 6 cm (2in) in diameter, which take after the plum for their smooth skin and juicy flesh, and the apricot for the taste and sweetness. Their skin is pink, hence the name, slightly pruinose, and the flesh is pink-red, very sweet, with hints of exotic fruits in its fragrance. Harvest takes place at the end of August.

The Pluot is an interspecific species. It is a complex hybrid between a plum and an apricot, created by Floyd Zaiger in 1988 in the United States. It contains 70% of the plum genome and 30% of the apricot tree's genome. Like many fruit trees, the Pluot Pink Candy appreciates light, rich, and deep soils. It does not tolerate excess water or heavy and compact soils well. A sunny location sheltered from the wind will protect the flowering and help with fruiting.

It is a semi-dwarf tree that will reach, at adulthood, a maximum of 3/4 the size of a classic plum tree, about 2.50 m (8ft) in height. Its deciduous foliage is a bright green. Its leaves are long, ovate, measuring 8 to 15 cm (3 to 6in) in length and 3 to 4 cm (1 to 2in) in width, with a short petiole. Its pale pink flowering occurs in April. The flowers are hermaphroditic and self-fertile. The fruiting results in Pluots, the sweetest and most sugary fruits. Their skin is smooth like that of plums. They are the size of a peach and derive their taste from the apricot. The juicy and sweet texture comes from the plum. Their skin is pink, hence the name, slightly pruinose, and their flesh is colored, pink-red, very sweet, with hints of exotic fruits in its fragrance.

The pluot is enjoyed raw at the foot of the tree, in fruit salads, but also in desserts, pastries, as an accompaniment to meats and dishes. It can be transformed into jams, of course, but also preserved in syrup, compotes, juices...