Spring 2024 - end of seasonWe have finished taking orders for this season.
Orange Pippin Trees USA logoSpecialist fruit trees for your orchard or back-yard

Toka plum tree

Prunus americana x Prunus simonii 'Toka'

  • Gardening skill: Average
  • Picking season: Late
  • Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
  • Pollination group: 2

Toka is a juicy red hybrid plum.  It is widely known as Bubblegum® on account of its remarkably fruity perfumed flavor. The plums ripen in August.

Toka is a clingstone plum - the yellow flesh sticks to the stone.

Toka japanese plums for sale

You can pre-order for spring 2025

  • Full-size 1-year bare-root tree $38.95
    Mature height: 16ft-24ft after 10 years
    Vigorous rootstock
    Out of stock

How to grow

Although not technically a Japanese plum, Toka can be considered one for growing purposes. Like most Japanese plums it fruits from an early age.

Toka is not self-fertile, so you will need another early-flowering Japanese plum to pollinate it. However it is an excellent pollinator of most other Japanese plums, on account of its long-bloom period and prolific blossom.

The tree grows vigorously, with an upright form.

Advice on fruit tree pollination.

History

Toka was released in 1911 by Niels Hansen of the South Dakota Agriculture Experiment Station. It is an unusual hybrid plum, resulting from a cross between the cold-hardy rugged native American plum and a Chinese plum species called Prunus simonii. Also known as the apricot plum, Prunus simonii was popular with breeders because of its highly aromatic flavor.

Toka characteristics

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
  • Pollination group2
  • Pollinating othersGood
  • Picking seasonLate
  • UsesEating freshCulinary
  • Keeping (of fruit)1 week
  • Cold hardiness (USDA)Zone 4 (-34C)
  • Summer maximum temperaturesCool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)Warm (25-30C / 76-85F)
  • Country of originUnited States
  • Period of origin1900 - 1949
  • Flesh colourGolden / Yellow
  • Fruit colorRed