Opata Cherry Plum vs Capilano Apricot - TreeTime.ca

Opata Cherry Plum vs Capilano Apricot

Prunus besseyi x salicina Opata

Prunus Capilano

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Opata Cherry Plum
Capilano Apricot

Opata Cherry Plum is considered to be one of the best tasting Cherry Plum varieties. It has a pleasant, sweet flavour and a hint of acidity. They ripen in mid to late August and are well suited to fresh eating, baking, and preserves.

The fruit is closer to a plum than a cherry but is smaller than most plums.The Opata Cherry Plum’s skin is red/green whereas the flesh is yellow-green. The flesh is freestone with a juicy, firm texture. Similar to other stone fruits, it does not store for very long.

The Opata Cherry Plum is a hybrid between a Western Sand Cherry and a Japanese (Chinese) Plum. For fruit production, it needs to be planted with another variety for cross-pollination. Canada Plum and American Plum are considered universal pollinizers.

Capilano Apricot is a cold-hardy variety known for its sweet, juicy, full-flavored fruit. It produces white to pink blooms in early spring, before the leaves emerge, followed by golden-yellow, freestone apricots. They ripen from mid-July to early August and are well-suited for fresh eating, baking, wine, canning, and preserves.

The Capilano Apricot originated from three trees planted in Edmonton’s Capilano neighbourhood during the 1960s. As they began producing fruit, local fruit enthusiasts took notice and propagated the trees, with the southernmost becoming particularly popular. Though the original trees no longer exist, the Capilano Apricot remains a widely sought-after cold-hardy variety.

Capilano Apricot is generally considered self-pollinating, but planting with another variety for cross-pollination can increase yields.

Note: The early bloom time makes the flowers vulnerable to spring frosts, which can reduce or eliminate the fruit crop

Opata Cherry Plum Quick Facts

Capilano Apricot Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3b
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 8 m (25 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Spread: 6 m (20 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: spreading to rounded
Spreading: suckering - low
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium
Maintenance: high


Flowers: white to pink
Bloom time: early spring
Fruit: skin green and red, flesh yellow-green
Fruit: freestone apricots
Fruit size: 3 cm in diameter
Fruit size: 5cm in diameter
Flavor: pleasant and sweet, hint of acidity
Flavor: sweet, slightly tart
Harvest: mid to late August
Harvest: mid summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: opata chum, opata plum cherry