I'd go more by 'softness' than color. If, with a bit of pressure you can make a dent, they're likely ready to use. We'll pick about 3 gallons of plums, put them in a sink to wash off the dust & stuff, then into a 3 gallon stock pot with a cup or so of water, put the lid on, then simmer at low heat for a few hours until its mush. Then into a colander to drain, catching the juice. Then onto making jelly by adding sugar and pectin. Another sign that they're ripe is the raccoons just ate them all. :-)

All members of the genus Malus can freely cross breed these Include : mountain ash, hawthorn, apples , flowering crab apples, and about 20 others. the edible quince,Japanese quince,pear ,Asian pear, apple, crab apple can all crossbreed . but the F1 are disappointing .all raspberries ,dewberries, loganberries, mulberries , wine berries, black caps, blackberries can crossbreed. As to the rest 1. Grayleaf raspberry (R. ideaus spp. strigosus) vs. European common raspberry (R. ideaus spp. ideaus)? 2. The various American blackberries vs. the various European blackberries and native/non-native forced hybrids? 3. The various native plums with Prunus domestica or P. tomentosa (I think I read that P. tomentosa (Nanking cherry) will freely hybridize with P. pumilla (sandcherry)? they have crossed the sand cherry with the plum in the 1970's 4. The various native crabapples with Malus domestica/pumilla? 5. American mountain ash with European or Asian pear, or the quinces, or at least with European mountain ash? Same for chokecherries since, I think I remember, that Pytina/Aronia can hybridize with Sorbus americana. 6. The various native plums with the man-made plum hybrids?Luther Burbank crossed Beach plums with domestic plums to give them Hardyness 7. "The native plums with peach/nectarine or almond? yes available" 8. The native mints and onions with the European garden species.You can cross onions with onions and onoins with garlic ( shallots) but you can not cross them with leeks. 9. The native silverberries with non-native Eleagnus spp. (Russian olive, Autumn olive, goumi). 10. The native honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.) with the increasingly popular blue honeyberry/haskap (Lonicera k... forgot). AND NATIVE VS NATIVE: 1. Forb/herbs like the Agastache spp. within themselves, the Monarda spp. within them selves, and so on. It seems that there are not many natural intermediaries between species in the same region - yet, maybe which mixing members of a genus that are regionally exclusive of each other, the likelihood for chance hybridization is greater? For instance, are the various Rhododendron spp. of a given area unlikely to hybridize with each other and same of the blueberries of a sub-region, yet when you plant Rhododendron spp. and, respectively, blueberries with their cousin species from opposite coasts, will hybridization occur more frequently? You can cross high bush Rhododendron with azaleas and Pjs I which that there were an online resource cataloging natural compatibilities within familiar horticulture genus. Purpose: I don't want to plant any foreign plant near my natives that would be cross-fertile. I would plant Prunus tomentosa if only it wouldn't supposedly readily hybridize with P. bessyi. Thanks, Now can you answer this one for me loquats can be grafted onto pear trees but can they crossbreed with pears ?

RE: Raspberry x Blackberry hybrids clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by farmfreedom (My Page) on Tue, Dec 15, 09 at 14:31 Yes you can cross: raspberries , blackberries , mulberries , wineberries ,dewberries , tayberries , boisenberries ,loganberries , salmonberries ,black caps, can all crossbreed . There is even a "white blackberry" developed by Luther Burbank The Nothernmost most cold resistant fruits in the world are berries. We should be using the most cold resistant fruits in the world to extend the range of all berries that they can crossbreed with . o RE: Raspberry x Blacberry hybrids clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by henry_kuska z5 OH (kuska@neo.rr.com) on Thu, Dec 17, 09 at 14:34 See: http://www.rosehybridizers.org/forum/message.php?topid=2986 for additional "possibilities". Here is a link that might be useful: link for above o RE: Raspberry x Blacberry hybrids clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by tugbrethil Sunset 13, USDA 9 (My Page) on Sat, Jan 16, 10 at 1:27 Wait a minute, farmfreedom! All of the brambles (blackberries, raspberries, etc.) are members of the rose family (Rosaceae), while mulberries are members of the Moraceae, along with figs and the rare succulent Dorstenia. There is virtually no structural similarity between the families: are you sure that mulberries and blackberries will hybridize? Kevin : ) o RE: Raspberry x Blacberry hybrids clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings * Posted by farmfreedom (My Page) on Mon, Feb 1, 10 at 16:30 I believe if you look up the "TAY berry " or the "Logan berry " you will find that that is the cross breed. Also If this was not true How Did Luther Burbank develop the " White Blackberry " . He is also said to Have crossed Strawberries and Blackberries which I would like to see if anyone has a picture . The Nothernmost most cold resistant fruits in the world are berries. We should be using the most cold resistant fruits in the world to extend the range of all berries that they can crossbreed with . 1. Will native strawberries (F. vesca or F. virginiana) cross-pollinate (freely, open-pollinate) with F. ananassa or even F. moschata? I know that half of the gene-pool comprising F. ananassa is F. virginiana, but I'm not sure if this was 'forced' under controlled conditions not present under normal circumstances - just like when you force American persimmon (var. virginiana only) to hybridize with D. kaki (with much effort)? With strawberries it depends on if they are diploid, triploid, quadriploid, etc. 2.Native plums (P. angustifolia; P. americana; P. maritima; P. alleghaniensis; P. pumilla var. besseyi) with European plum (P. domestica) or with the Asian plums (including P. tomentosa). Someone said the natives will not hybridize with the European species but will with (?all)Asian species. Plums,beach plums, apriocots, peaches (including nectarines), almonds and I believe sand cherries can all cross breed with each other , but not with real cherries . 3. The wild native mints (or plants in the mint family) with the Eurasian mint types. 4. The native garlic spp. with the Eurasian garlic spp. garlic can cross with onions( shallots) and other garlic but neither can cross with leaks. 5. Are there natural native crab apple x European apple hyrbids? Yes 6. Other then the supposed Amelanchier canadensis x A. laevis alleged hybrid resulting in A. x grandifolia, will the various Amelanchier spp. hybridize with one another - i.e. A. alnifolia, A. canadensis, A. humilis, etc. with one another? 7. Will the various hickories hybridize with one another, such as pecan x shagbark x shellbark, or are these either extremely rare hybridizations or ones requiring human intervention? Luther Burbank crossed them and crossed the heart nut and all the walnuts . he was trying to cross the walnut with the pecan when he died. 8. Will the various native plums hybridize with one another? - I think several will with A. americana, but not sure if those that would will hybridize with one another. Probably 9. Will native currants and gooseberries hybridize with their European counterparts? And will native currants/gooseberries hybridize freely among themselves? currants X gooseberries are called jostaberries 10. Will native raspberries and blackberries from the north east hybridize with those (Rubus) from the western states? Same question for native blueberries/huckleberries from the east and western coast? Why not ?

What regions do these wild plums normally grow in? Are they sweet or tart? How hardy are they & how much water do they need? Are they drought-resistant, or no? "To my delight, they were wild plums. Delicious, delicious wild plums. They were incredibly juicy and a little tart, with a really nice sweet finish." http://www.bootsintheoven.com/boots_in_the_oven/2006/05/name_that_fruit.html "Texas is home to several species of wild plums. The most common, perhaps, is the Chickasaw plum (P. angustifolia), a small tree that forms thickets on prairies and savannahs from East Texas to the Rolling Plains. The rose-colored plums can be picked and eaten right off the tree. Mexican plum (P. mexicana) trees grow larger, up to 35 feet, and are more likely to be found scattered among other trees in riparian woodlands. Its purple fruit is less palatable on its own, âÂÂbut it makes wonderful preserves,â Cheatham says." http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2013/aug/ed_3_wildharvest/ Here is a link that might be useful: wild plums