Cultivar 425: Milletts Early Red

Milletts Early Red is an Americana plum recorded as a wild find near Pierre, South Dakota. The South Dakota bulletin describes it as a hardy, early ripening local plum, but not as high quality or dependable. Its main distinction was earliness rather than overall merit. [S1]

The origin note is brief: it was found wild near Pierre. The same South Dakota Station source says it was in orchard testing. It describes younger trees in the old Station orchard as low and bushy, and the tree as rather dwarf. [S1]

The Station record gives mixed fruit descriptions. The plum is described as red with a yellow cheek, with thick skin, a rather large pit, and firm, sweet flesh of good quality. [S1] But the same source also says the fruit was too small and poor in quality, and that early ripening was its only good point. [S1]

The season appears to run from late August into very early September. The bulletin reports fruit ripe on August 29, 1902, when it was cracked and scabby, and ripe again on September 1, 1904, when fruit was fair sized with little scab. [S1] These notes suggest a very early plum whose condition could vary a lot by season. [S1]

As a tree, Milletts Early Red was considered hardy but not productive. The bulletin says it was not productive, and that trees in the young Station orchard were light bearers valued only for earliness. [S1] The South Dakota evidence points to a small, early Americana plum with local hardiness, modest tree size, and limited orchard value except as an early fruit. [S1]

No parentage, breeder, or formal release story is given in the source used here. The strongest hardiness evidence is its wild South Dakota origin and the Station's direct note that it was hardy. [S1]

Summary source basis

• S1: Plums in South Dakota

This summary currently draws chiefly from Plums in South Dakota.

Featured source descriptions

“Too small and poor in quality; its early ripening is the only good point.”
— ^[1]

“Ripe September 1, 1904; fruit of fair size with little scab.”
— ^[1]

“Ripe August 29, 1902; fruit cracked and scabby.”
— ^[1]

“Hardy.”
— ^[1]

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

• Milletts Aly Red, Americana. Found wild near Pierre, S. D.Plums in South Dakota, p26
• Milletts Aly Red, Americana. Found wild near Pierre, S. D.Plums in South Dakota, p26
• Milletts Aly Red, Americana. Found wild near Pierre, S. D.Plums in South Dakota, p26
• Milletts Aly Red, Americana. Found wild near Pierre, S. D.Plums in South Dakota, p26

Taxonomy context: No family-tree context surfaced yet.

Related cultivars mentioned in source context