Cultivar 155: Kaga

Kaga is a hardy hybrid plum from N. E. Hansen's South Dakota breeding work. It is a cross of native wild plum and Prunus simonii, the Chinese apricot-plum. Sources place its introduction in 1909. Later summaries treat it as one of the fragrant plum group that combined native plum hardiness with the firm, aromatic flesh inherited from P. simonii. [S1] [S3] [S4] [S6]

Hansen grouped Kaga with Hanska, Inkpa, and later Toka as closely related seedlings from the same pedigree. Contemporary bulletins say these selections were much alike in fruit and growth rate, and that more trial was needed to decide which was best. Kaga's Sioux name is glossed as "pitch a tent." This was part of Hansen's broader practice of giving his northern plum introductions short Sioux names tied to the region and easier to use than numbered selections. [S4] [S6]

In 1909 field notes, the fruit was described as true Hanska type inside and out. The same notes say the trees bore heavy crops in 1908 and 1909, with fruit about 1 1/4 by 1 1/2 inches. Broader descriptions of this hybrid class say the fruit had firm, fragrant flesh and, when cooked, an apricot-like flavor unlike ordinary native plums. [S1] [S4]

Kaga was not just a curiosity but a practical prairie plum. South Dakota extension recommendations placed it among the Hansen fragrant hybrids suited to all zones in the state. Prairie orchard notes from Morden later called it a full sister of Hanska, said the fruit was similar, and judged the tree a more dependable bearer there, with added value as a pollenizer. Another later South Dakota bulletin also noted that many preferred Kaga over Hanska for more regular annual bearing. [S2] [S6] [S7]

In the broader lineage of prairie plums, Kaga matters as an early example that native North American plum hardiness could be joined to the richer flesh and fragrance of Prunus simonii. Hansen later cited Hanska, Inkpa, Kaga, and Toka together as evidence that this combination could succeed. Kaga also appears in later parent reference and classification lists simply as a native plum x Chinese apricot-plum hybrid. This supports the basic pedigree but does not add a more specific named parent pair. [S1] [S3] [S5] [S6]

Kaga's exact fruit quality relative to its sister seedlings remained somewhat unsettled in the early bulletins because Hansen repeatedly said further trial was needed. But across the South Dakota and prairie orchard sources, the picture is consistent: a 1909 fragrant hybrid plum, closely allied to Hanska, productive, hardy, and remembered as one of the notable early apricot-plum x native plum introductions for the northern plains. [S4] [S6] [S7]

Summary source basis

• S1: New Hardy Fruits for the Northwest
• S2: South Dakota Fruit Garden
• S3: 9c684c14 7509 4b78 a803 0bf01a64aa28
• S4: Some New Fruits
• S5: Progress in Plant Breeding
• S6: Plant Introductions
• S7: TreeFruitsGrownInPrairieOrchards WRLeslie 1946 HQ

This summary currently draws chiefly from Some New Fruits, with 7 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“The three varieties are much alike in fruit and rapidity of growth.”
— ^[8]

“Indexed at Bulletin 224, page 22.”
— ^[5]

“Kaga is among the fragrant plum introductions valued for excellent flavor of the firm fragrant flesh.”
— ^[5]

“Further trial is needed to determine which is the best one.”
— ^[8]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• Kaga is given as P. americana x P. simoni.
• Kaga is of the same pedigree as the Hanska.
• Kaga is referenced as one of the cultivars sharing the same pedigree group as Toka, Hanska, and Inkpa.
• Pedigree: Wild plum X Prunus Simoni pollen.
• Kaga belongs to the Native Plum x Chinese Apricot Plum pollen class.
• Of same pedigree as the Hanska.
• Species/background listed as P. americana x P. simonii.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• 15 Burbank x Kaga ... In 15 of these the male parent is Kaga ... In a cross of P. japonica x Kaga (P. americana x P. Simonii) plumPollination Studies with Stone Fruits, p5
• Inkpa - (Sioux Indian name for "apex" or "acme") and Kaga - (Sioux Indian for "pitch a tent"). Of same pedigree as the Hanska.Spring 1909 : some new fruits, p4
• Inkpa - (Sioux Indian name for "apex" or "acme") and Kaga - (Sioux Indian for "pitch a tent"). Of same pedigree as the Hanska.Spring 1909 : some new fruits, p4
• Inkpa - (Sioux Indian name for "apex" or "acme") and Kaga - (Sioux Indian for "pitch a tent"). Of same pedigree as the Hanska.Spring 1909 : some new fruits, p4

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context