By Doug Geraets
I guess you really can learn something new almost every day! I was texting with an acquaintance I had met at a friend’s wedding in Washington State and he texted back about growing pluots
(pronounced PLOO • ahts) and pluerries (ploo • AIR eez) in his fruit orchard. I had no idea what he was talking about – I had never heard of these fruit hybrids.
After some quick research online, I learned that these varieties are both crosses of two different fruits. A pluot = plum + apricot and a pluerry = plum + sweet cherry.
Floyd Zaiger, a fruit breeder of Zaiger Genetics out of Modesto, California, is credited with developing pluots. Zaiger was internationally known for hybrid development of stone fruit and numerous plant patents.
Pluots (stock photo above right) are later generations of a hybrid between the Japanese plum and the apricot. Like a plum, they are smooth-skinned and have flesh described as very sweet and juicy.
Pluerries were also bred by Zaiger Genetics from plum and cherry hybrids that exhibit more plum characteristics. They are small fruits (1-1.5 inch diameter), round to oval in shape and have a smooth, glossy skin. The skin is tart and, inside, the flesh has a fruity, sweet and vibrant taste with hints of plum and cherry.
Who knew? I had no knowledge prior to mid-December 2024 of these fruit hybrids, so I thought I would share with other JCMG just in case you hadn’t either!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum-cherry_hybrid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluot
https://ospi.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/2024-08/hom_pluots_sm_0.pdf
Johnson County Master Gardeners of Iowa 