Cultivar 418: Lombard

Lombard is a European plum, listed as domestica. Sources describe it as an old New York variety that became one of the most widely grown plums of its class. In prairie records, however, it was not considered hardy enough for the prairie northwest. [S2]

South Dakota sources treat Lombard as an older standard сорт of European plum that growers kept trying because the fruit was good enough to justify the effort. A Black Hills grower called it the finest plum he had succeeded in fruiting, but added that it was "not exactly hardy" and that many trees were lost before they became established. [S3] That pattern explains much of its northern history: admired fruit, but uncertain hardiness.

The packet gives little direct description of the fruit, but it does show Lombard as a recognizable European plum in South Dakota station photographs from 1902 and in fruit photographed on September 7, 1904. [S2] County and station notes suggest that it could bear well where it survived. In Clay County, it was reported to occasionally produce a good crop, especially on wild plum stock. [S3] At the South Dakota station, two trees on sand cherry stock planted in 1900 grew well and bore well in 1904 for their size. [S2]

In the northern Plains, its performance was closely tied to stock choice. South Dakota records note fair specimens grown as crown grafts in a wild plum thicket, and Clay County reports say it did best on wild plum stock. [S2] [S3] Reports on sand cherry stock are mixed. One South Dakota station note says Lombard on sand cherry grew and fruited well, but a Nebraska report cited in the sand cherry bulletin says the union was imperfect and the trees broke off at the graft union in the second nursery year. [S1] [S2] Another South Dakota stock note warns that Lombard on peach stock had to be dug very carefully to avoid breakage at the union. [S2]

The hardiness record is mostly negative. Prairie sources say directly that Lombard was not sufficiently hardy in the prairie northwest, and the Black Hills report also says it was not exactly hardy. [S2] [S3] Even so, repeated trials, photographic plates, and grower comments show that it remained important enough to test, exhibit, and compare. In Pomologica terms, Lombard is a good example of a valued European plum pushed into colder country, where fruit quality kept it in consideration even when the wood and graft unions did not fully cooperate. [S2] [S3]

Summary source basis

• S1: The Western Sand Cherry
• S2: Plums in South Dakota
• S3: Fruit Culture

This summary currently draws chiefly from Plums in South Dakota, with 2 additional supporting sources linked below.

Featured source descriptions

“An old variety originated in New York.”
— ^[1]

“Included among plums photographed September 7, 1904.”
— ^[1]

“The station trees on sand cherry stock bore well in 1904 for the size of tree.”
— ^[1]

“Occasionally bears a good crop.”
— ^[3]

Direct parent cultivars

• No direct linked parent cultivars promoted yet.

Parentage claim text

• No direct breeding_cross claim text yet.

Derived or downstream cultivar links

• No derived or downstream lineage links yet.

Source-story quotations

• Lombard, domestica.Plums in South Dakota, p23
• Lombard, domestica.Plums in South Dakota, p23

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context