Cultivar 139: Ember

Ember is a cold climate plum hybrid from the University of Minnesota. It was bred from Shiro x South Dakota No. 33 and named in 1936. Prairie sources also note that it was formerly released as Minn. 83. [S2] [S3] Prairie orchard literature treats it as a plum or plum hybrid noted for hardiness, productivity, and good fruit quality, not as a minor trial seedling. [S2] [S3]

Sources place its origin with the Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm or University of Minnesota breeding work. [S2] [S3] South Dakota extension later listed Ember among Minnesota hybrid plums for trial in the warmest South Dakota fruit zone, along the southern border and in the lower Black Hills valleys. This helps place its recommended range but is not itself a hardiness rating. [S1]

The fruit is described as large, about 1 1/4 inches in diameter, and round to round conic or ovate roundish. The skin is yellow and heavily washed or mostly covered with bright red blush, with a noticeable bloom. [S2] [S3] The flesh is deep or rich yellow, very firm, meaty, juicy, and sweet, with a pleasant flavor and very good quality. [S2] [S3] The stone is cling. [S2]

Ember ripens late enough to stand out among hardy plums. One source says early September, while a prairie orchard source reports mid September at Morden, Manitoba. [S2] [S3] The fruit is also said to hang after ripening and keep for two weeks or more after harvest, which suggests better holding ability than many plums of its class. [S2]

The tree is described as low and spreading or simply spreading, vigorous, hardy, and productive. [S2] [S3] Bloom is reported in early May. [S2] Its hardiness, spreading habit, and productive bearing help explain why it appeared in prairie orchard reference literature rather than remaining only a Minnesota breeding record. [S2] [S3]

In broader context, Ember belongs with the hardy Prunus material developed and tested for northern conditions in Minnesota and the prairie region. [S1] [S2] [S3] Its parentage links the named Japanese plum Shiro with South Dakota breeding material, showing the kind of cross regional northern breeding that shaped many prairie suitable plums. [S2] [S3]

Summary source basis

• S1: South Dakota Fruit Garden
• S2: 9c684c14 7509 4b78 a803 0bf01a64aa28
• S3: TreeFruitsGrownInPrairieOrchards WRLeslie 1946 HQ

This summary currently draws chiefly from 9c684c14 7509 4b78 a803 0bf01a64aa28, with 5 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“Origin: University of Minnesota, named in 1936.”
— ^[6]

“Form: round, conic; apex slightly pointed; cavity small and shallow; suture a line; stem 1/4 inch long and slender.”
— ^[6]

“Blooms early May and ripens early September.”
— ^[6]

“Stone: long, oval, cling.”
— ^[6]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• Parentage: Shiro x South Dakota No. 33.
• Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm introduction from 1936; Shiro x South Dakota 33; formerly released as Minn. 83.
• Species/background listed as P. salicina hybrid x P. americana.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• Ember (Minnesota No. 83), the new Plum originated at the Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm about which there have been so many fine reports.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p8
• Ember (Minnesota No. 83), the new Plum originated at the Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm about which there have been so many fine reports.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p8
• Ember (Minnesota No. 83), the new Plum originated at the Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm about which there have been so many fine reports.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p8
• Ember (Minnesota No. 83), the new Plum originated at the Minnesota Fruit Breeding Farm about which there have been so many fine reports.Hardy fruits for Northern planting, trees, shrubs, 1937, p8

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context