Pipestone was released as a cross between a Native American plum and a European plum by the University of Minnesota in 1942. And over 80 years later, people are still growing this hardy, tasty, yellow-fleshed plum.

Flavor and Fruit Characteristics

When we tried Pipestone several years ago, we were taken aback at their size—most coming in slightly under 2" in diameter. And their flavor was really good: sweet yellow flesh with slightly tart skin. They ripened in early September for us in Missoula.

Cold Hardiness

Even when some of the Italian plums in town—which are typically fairly hardy—had suffered tip damage, Pipestone didn’t show any signs of damage. We’ve seen Pipestone growing in places that can hit -38°F, like a cold part of Stevensville in the Bitterroot. There wasn’t any noticeable damage on the tree after it saw those temps on 1/12/2024.

In short, Pipestone is a super-productive, tasty plum that we know has survived down to -38°F. Some even list it as surviving down to -50°F, although we don’t have direct experience with that ourselves—we just haven’t seen any trees planted where it gets that cold.

Spring 2025 Availability

These plums come in several different sizes for Spring 2025. Both sizes are grafted onto Krymsk 86 rootstock, which has proven to be our favorite rootstock for plums. They’re vigorous (semi-dwarf), super hardy, and plums take very well on them.