Plum (Prunus domestica) and tree branches are often brittle, and if they snap, there is a danger that rot or other diseases will enter and infect the wound.
Start thinning a heavy crop in late spring to take some weight off the branches. Curl a finger around the stalk and snap off the fruit with your thumbnail, leaving the stalk attached to the tree.
Complete thinning later, after the natural drop of the fruit. Thin dessert plums to 2 to 3 inches apart; thin cooking plums to 2 inches. This usually means leaving one plum to each cluster.
Pick ripe fruit by the stalk to avoid bruising. The stalk will snap and come away with the fruit.
Allow the plums that you intend to eat raw to ripen on the tree as long as possible. Pick those that will be used for cooking or canning just before they are ripe.
Plums can be kept in good condition for a few weeks if they are picked just before they are ripe, wrapped in paper and placed in a cool, well-ventilated room or shed. Remove any rotting fruit regularly, as it may spread disease. The wrapping paper will discolor if fruit rots.
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Keep plum tree branches light by thinning and harvesting ripe fruits.
