Santa Rosa Plum Tree

Santa Rosa Plum Tree is a California orchard classic with bold flavor, beautiful fruit, and exceptional value as a pollinizer. Medium-to-large plums ripen red-purple over amber, enclosing golden-red flesh with a vivid balance of sweetness and tang. The juicy fruit is excellent fresh and has enough acidity and aroma for baking, preserves, sauces, and desserts. Fragrant white spring blossoms bring ornamental appeal and overlap with many Japanese plums and pluots, helping Santa Rosa support fruit set throughout a mixed stone-fruit planting. Developed by Luther Burbank and named for his California home, the variety has remained popular because it is more than dependable: its flavor is lively, recognizable, and rewarding. For gardeners choosing one foundational Japanese plum, Santa Rosa offers a versatile harvest and relationships with many of the orchard’s most exciting hybrids.

Santa Rosa grows semi-dwarf on Citation rootstock and is suited to USDA zones 5–10, with a confirmed 300-hour chill requirement. In suitable climates, harvest generally spans late June through early July. Plant in full sun, thin crowded fruit, and maintain even irrigation as the crop ripens.

Santa Rosa is self-fruitful and can bear alone. Another compatible Japanese plum may improve set, and Santa Rosa itself is a valuable partner for Satsuma, Dapple Dandy, and Flavor King.

Santa Rosa Plum Tree Details

• Fruit: Medium to large red-purple plums with golden-red flesh
• Flavor and texture: Juicy, aromatic, sweet, tangy, and richly balanced
• Best uses: Fresh eating, baking, preserves, sauces, and desserts
• Harvest: Late June to early July, with timing varying by region and season
• USDA zones: 5–10
• Chill hours: 300
• Tree size: Semi-dwarf on Citation rootstock
• Pollination: Self-fruitful; another compatible plum may improve set
• Recommended pollinizers/companions: Satsuma, Dapple Dandy, or Flavor King
• Special care: Thin clusters and harvest progressively as color and flavor deepen
• Something special: Luther Burbank named this enduring plum for Santa Rosa, California, where he conducted much of his breeding work.

Orchard Planning Resources

• Bare Root Tree Selection Guide
• How to Plant Bare Root Trees
• Fruit and Nut Tree Characteristics
• Tree Rootstock Characteristics Chart