My impression of this plum is that for quite some time people have felt it was not one of the best plums. Many heritage plums continue to be grown but this one was felt inferior. Here is what Plums of New York circa 1911 says: Although one of the oldest plums under cultivation, probably the oldest of the prune type, the German Prune is still as largely grown, the world over, as any; and is seemingly more widely disseminated than any other plum. It is a little difficult, in America at least, to see why this fruit holds its popularity so long, for it is surpassed by other plums in many horticultural characters, and when all of its characters, most of which are very good, are combined there are still plums which it does not excel. In most of the attributes which gratify the senses, color, size, shape, taste and smell, it falls below expectations for a plum so universally planted. Undoubtedly the wide distribution of this plum is due somewhat to its many variations. The fruit comes almost true to seed and is often propagated by planting pits, a practice which has given many slightly different strains of this variety, each with somewhat different adaptations. This quote alone probably helped its demise as this book has been the leading book on plums in the US for the last hundred years. Was the plum really inferior? Its hard to say. Fruits go in and out of fashion and even scientific writers such as Hedrick, who wrote the above, are susceptible to those whims. One example is the low opinion Hedrick had of the "Indian" peaches (Indian Cling and Free), which have won recent taste tests at Dave Wilson. My view is that is more the exception than the rule however. Scott

Harvestman: I usually don't get into a lot of detail and technical exceptions when trying to explain insect or disease control to a novice grower. Rather than risk confusing people and overloading the circuits with exceptions like post-infection activity of certain commercially available fungicides, I try to stick to a general rule. In the case of CAR and the backyard grower, I believe the best rule is: Have the fungicide on when the disease arrives. I know this is true of Ferbam, which is probably a moot point since it is now very difficult to find, but also recommend it for Immunox. Weather conditions in early spring will always affect the ability to spray, but in the case of a systemic like Immunox, post-spray rains may not affect the control of the chemical to the same degree. I do use a sticker-spreader with Ferbam, which I believe helps it cling a little longer, but doesn't protect new growth. This season I did three sprays with Ferbam in the month of April because I had three decent days to spray, and one more in early May. This may sound excessive, but after the CAR disaster I experienced in the '08 season (due primarily to poopy weather that prevented spraying) I was taking no chances. Even with this relatively high level of spray care, I still had 5-10% damage from CAR on the apples of some varieties -- and one of them was Goldrush, a genetically resistant variety. This level of damage to the fruit is not a problem for me, since at thinning time the apples showing even a touch of CAR on the calyx are the first to come off. This leaves plenty of healthy apples, but it irritates me when the affected apple in a cluster happens to be the big, fat king fruit. I don't worry too much about a few little CAR spots on the leaves. My concern is with the apples themselves. The '08 season, when damage on some trees reached around 90%, may have left me a little shellshocked. Didn't even have enough apples to press cider, and barely made the applesauce quota. This season is much, much better, although I am pretty sure the high level of infection last season actually knocked out a lot of interior fruiting spurs, since I am having a lot more apples on the tips this season. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

You may have already seen these, but, since no one has answered so far, here are some description (for whatever they are worth) and links concerning 'Colt': from Bay Laurel Nursery - "In heavy soils, standard cherries are dwarfed to about 22 to 30ft. Lesser dwarfing effect in other soils. Relatively tolerant of wet soils, apparently resistant to bacterial canker. Trees begin bearing at a young age. Trees on Colt may be held to any desired height by summer pruning." from C&O Nursery - "Produces a Mahaleb-size tree with Mazzard characteristics. Early cropping and uniform tree growth are two of its most outstanding qualities. Shows resistance to bacterial canker, crown gall, and cherry replant disease." link to 'Colt' patent document - http://www.freepatentsonline.com/PP04059.html link to Oregon State Extension Publication - http://extension.oregonstate.edu/wasco/sites/default/files/horticulture/Rootstocks/documents/coltrootstockmaybetheanswer.pdf I haven't seen anything specific to 'Compact Stella' on 'Colt'.

Two young, thin branches and the weight of the leaves is pulling them down? Maybe the colourbond fence generated more heat and light than normal causing the tree to become a bit spindly. You could try cutting off the thinest branch (on the left) and staking and tieing the other as a leader. Be careful not to break the remaining branch when tieing it.