Identify this plum variety

These are plums I picked years ago now, on a rental property in interior British Columbia, Canada. Hot and dry climate, hardiness zone 7. These were delicious. There were other plum trees around, of the prune variety, and they were good too, but these guys really stood out. The trees were old, and planted intentionally. This doesn't mean that they weren't seedlings, but just not likely to be an accidental plum tree. I have not been able to find a similar plum colouration by googling, although I tried on a few different occasions. Any thoughts?

Could you post a photo of one cut in half so we can see the color of the interior?

No, because I don't have one The picture is about 8 years old now, and I'm on the other side of the continent as of 7 years ago... I vaguely remember the inside being light and transparent, if that helps anything. Definitely not greenish or blueish. Maybe very light pink or yellow?

Here are five plums that have that red and yellow blush to them.  All the plums I've tasted that look like this were delicious.  They were also all Asian types.

https://onegreenworld.com/product/howard-miracle-2/

https://onegreenworld.com/product/burbank-japanese-plum/

https://raintreenursery.com/collections/asian-plums/products/toka-a-plum-semi-dwarf

https://raintreenursery.com/collections/asian-plums/products/early-golden-a-plum-semi-dwarf

https://raintreenursery.com/collections/asian-plums/products/superior-asian-hybrid-plum-semi-dwarf

Note that the one called Early Golden was actually discovered in Canada.  If you can't figure out which one it was form these taste descriptions, you might try a couple things - contact either of these companies with your picture.  Or does Canada have something like the US "Extension Services" - ag services to the public done through universities?  You could send that picture and description to the one for the region the plum came from.  

Hope that helps!

Is it small like a half dollar, sweet and juicy like bubble gum? Does it look like an American wild plum? If so, it could be a "Toka" (aka Bubble Gum Plum) which is an outstanding pollinator. I planted one as a pollinator for Santa Rosa. "Intentional" planting could be as a pollinator for the other plum trees.

Amy - definitely not small! These are full-size plums. Not huge, but sizeable.

Kim - thanks for the suggestions! I don't think it's Howard, Burbank, Toka, or the Superior - the inside doesn't look quite right on any of them. The early golden is a possibility... I might try to find some plum experts, like you suggested. That tree has been haunting me for 7 years now

I may have found it... check this out.

I too understand the feeling of being "haunted" by fruit - in a good way!  I looked up some BC nurseries, searched through their plum listings and found mention of a "Peach Plum".  Then I looked for pictures of the Peach Plum, and wow, it looks close.

Peach Plum Characteristics

On another site it looks like they are also grown in Russia, so very cold hardy.

Here's a picture:


And on a BC agriculture site, Peach Plum is listed as a good pollinator.  It sounds like it's been planted intentionally a long time.  What do you think?

That is so neat, thank you! I've never heard of these. I have to say - until now, I never realized how hard it is to find a fruit based on colour. I have the memory of it (so more information on the fruit), but based on picture alone - every single variety you suggested looks the same. Heck, I just realized that the plums on the front cover of Gaia's Garden look similar, too Thank you so much for the enthusiastic dive into the world of plums!!!

Without a good gauge of size, it's difficult to say, but...

Here in the Midwest there's a indigenous wild plum known locally as sand plum in most of KS & NE.  In Oklahoma, it's known as the Chickasaw Plum.  

While generally they grow in thickets, they CAN be cultivated/pruned/spoiled into an actual tree, much like sumac and some other thicket forming shrubs.  Sand plums have an amazing color skin which thru jack o'lantern orange when ripening to almost maraschino red, while the pulp stays a yellowish-orange color.  Our fruit size ranges from a pie cherry at the small end to the circumference of a quail egg at the large side.  

I have been told by some folks that similar fruits (likely landrace cultivars of the same wild plum species) are found moving west into the Eastern Colorado Plains, presumably further as well.  One friend actually kept records of the coloration, flavor, size, and farm directions (from Intersection X go 3 west, two north, 1/2 back east, then back south into the creek bed) because she found at least 4 different styles of wild plum growing within 15 miles of her farm.  

I say all of that to make this point.  It's entirely possible what you had was a cultivated specimen of a local wild plum tree or bush.