Greengage 'Old Green Gage'

Where to Plant
Choose a sunny, sheltered position with fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. A sheltered site is particularly useful for greengages as their spring blossom can be vulnerable to frost. Avoid sites that become waterlogged.

Planting Your Bare-Root Tree
Plant while the tree is dormant, avoiding periods when the ground is frozen or waterlogged. Unpack promptly and soak the roots in a bucket of water for around 30 minutes before planting. Dig a hole wide enough for the roots to spread naturally without bending or crowding them.

Position the tree at the same depth it was previously growing, using the soil mark on the stem as a guide and keeping the graft union above soil level. Spread the roots naturally, backfill with soil, gently firm and water thoroughly. Stake the tree if needed to keep it secure while the roots establish.

Watering & Feeding
Water regularly during the first growing season and during prolonged dry spells. Consistent moisture is particularly important while the fruits are developing. Feed in spring with a suitable fruit tree fertiliser and mulch around the base with well-rotted compost or organic matter, keeping the mulch clear of the trunk.

Pruning
Greengages are best pruned during spring or summer rather than during the dormant winter period. Remove dead, damaged, diseased, crossing or badly positioned branches and maintain an open, well-balanced framework. Pruning while the tree is actively growing helps reduce the risk of silver leaf disease.

Do I Need Another Greengage Tree?
Not necessarily. 'Old Green Gage' is partially self-fertile, so it can produce fruit when grown on its own. However, growing a compatible plum or gage that flowers at around the same time can improve pollination and help produce a more reliable crop.

Pollination Group 5
'Old Green Gage' belongs to Pollination Group 5. If you'd like to grow a pollination partner, choose a compatible plum or gage with an overlapping flowering period.

Spring Blossom
White flowers appear in spring before the fruits begin to develop. The blossom attracts bees and other pollinating insects, which help transfer pollen between flowers and support fruit set.

Developing Fruit
Small, rounded fruits develop through summer, gradually changing from green to yellow-green as they ripen. If your tree sets a particularly heavy crop, thinning some of the young fruits can give the remaining gages more room to develop.

Top Tip:
Although 'Old Green Gage' can fruit on its own, adding a compatible pollination partner can help improve cropping, particularly if there aren't other suitable plum or gage trees growing nearby.

When to Harvest
'Old Green Gage' is ready to harvest in August. Exact timing will vary with the season and where you garden, so let the fruits themselves tell you when they're ready rather than relying on a particular date.

How to Tell When Greengages Are Ready
Don't be tempted to pick simply because the fruits are still green. As they ripen, the skin becomes more yellow-green and the flesh becomes beautifully sweet and juicy. Ripe fruits should feel slightly softer and come away from the tree readily.

How to Pick
Handle ripe greengages gently as the fruits can bruise easily. Cup each fruit in your hand and lift it carefully from the branch rather than pulling or squeezing it.

Enjoying Your Harvest
Greengages are at their best when fully ripe, so enjoy freshly picked fruits promptly. If you have more than you can eat fresh, the fruit can be cooked, preserved or frozen for later use.

Top Tip:
Taste is one of the best guides to ripeness. A properly ripe greengage should be wonderfully sweet and juicy, so try one before harvesting the rest of the crop.

Fresh from the Tree
'Old Green Gage' is particularly prized as an eating fruit. Allow the gages to ripen fully and enjoy their rich, sweet and juicy flesh straight from the tree.

Jams & Preserves
A generous harvest makes delicious greengage jam and preserves, where the fruit's natural sweetness and distinctive flavour really come through.

For Puddings
Use your gages in crumbles, tarts and cakes, or gently poach them for serving with yoghurt, cream or ice cream.

Make the Most of Your Harvest
Ripe greengages are relatively delicate, so use or preserve them while they're at their best. Surplus fruit can also be stoned and frozen for cooking later in the year.

Top Tip:
Taste your fruit before adding too much sugar when cooking. A fully ripe greengage can be remarkably sweet in its own right.

Bare-Root Trees
Your tree is supplied bare root while dormant, without a pot or compost around its roots. It will usually arrive with a woody stem and branches but little or no foliage. This is completely normal and fresh growth will begin as the tree comes out of dormancy in spring.

On Arrival
Unpack your tree promptly and don't allow the roots to dry out. If you can't plant immediately, keep the roots moist and the tree somewhere cool and sheltered until you're ready to plant.

Grafted Fruit Trees
'Old Green Gage' is grafted, combining the fruiting variety with a rootstock that helps determine how strongly the tree grows. You'll usually be able to see the graft union towards the base of the stem. Keep this above soil level when planting.

St Julien A Rootstock
Your tree is grafted onto St Julien A rootstock, a semi-vigorous rootstock commonly used for plums and greengages. It produces a medium-sized garden tree, although eventual size will depend on growing conditions and how the tree is trained and pruned.

What to Expect After Planting
Your young tree won't look like a mature fruit tree straight away. During its first few years it will establish its roots and develop its framework of branches, with cropping increasing as the tree matures.