It seems to me that more progress is being made with commercial nectarines around here than with commercial plums. We do live in prime nectarine territory. Prime Asian plum territory is probably a little to the north.

There is a commercial packing house near us where locals can buy small amounts of fruit which does not meet marketing criteria. Normally I don't buy plums there, but today I was curious and they had a small box of black plums to which they added more fruit while I was there. It seems (from nearby identifiers) to be a mixture of Howard Sun and Friar plums.

The variety I believe to be Howard Sun is slightly wilted but firm with tough, leathery skin which is slightly astringent. This fruit acted like a cling (both varieties are supposed to be freestone, so picking before ripeness may be the reason). It has some sweetness and flavor and might be quite good if tree-ripened. The flavor of Howard Sun is described on the patent as "mild", which seems to be what sells in commercial black plums. Howard Sun is supposed to ripen in early September here. Hard to say when this fruit was picked.

The variety I believe to be Friar is firm, almost flavorless and almost freestone even though it seems to have been picked way, way too soon. Friar is picked starting in late July and ripens starting around mid-August (there are some outfits that start picking in mid-August, when fruit would be riper). Skin on the fruits in this box is less leathery and astringent than the variety above but still thick. The two varieties have a very similar appearance. The fruits look great (a little on the small side for these varieties). There is absolutely no sign of spoilage or damage from handling despite their time packed away in cold storage.

I also picked up a box of September Bright nectarines. Fruits were either too large for packing, too small or cosmetically flawed. The big ones were much larger than the nectarines you usually see in the grocery store. This is a white freestone nectarine with a red blush. These are visibly green, however (some very green). I had one of the riper ones today -- still green. Despite being hard and crunchy, it was quite sweet and had some flavor. I imagine that it could be very good if tree-ripened.