Lots of brown rot, slight suture bulge, uneven halves, good taste, plum
Description
LUM. Released in 2004 by W.R. Okie, USDA-ARS, Byron, GA. Ruby Queen is a high-quality, late-ripening fruit developed by ARS-USDA that is well-adapted to the humid climate of the southeastern United States. Ruby Queen has performed well in central Georgia, in New Jersey and New York and is recommended for trial in areas with similar climates. Ruby Queen was first planted at the ARS-USDA location at Byron, GA in 1982. J.M. Thompson first selected Ruby Queen in 1985. At Byron, Ruby Queen blooms with Methley plum and with peaches having a chilling requirement of about 750 hours below 45°F. Flowers are white, and are borne in clusters of 2-3. The anthers shed moderate quantities of pollen. Ruby Queen should be planted adjacent to other plums blooming at the same time to facilitate insect pollination since flowers are probably self-incompatible. In most years heavy thinning has been needed to reduce fruit set and maintain tree vigor. Fruit of Ruby Queen ripen about 3-4 weeks after Santa Rosa and Morris, in mid-late July at Byron. No other adapted plums are available that ripen at this time. Skin color is dark red to reddish-black, covered with a waxy bloom. The red flesh is firm with outstanding flavor. With proper thinning, 2 inch fruit size is common. Fruit shape is round. The medium-sized pit is more or less clingstone.
Key
Evaluations are based on a 1-8 scale (6=OK,7=Commercially acceptable, 8=Excellent)
Size is in inches
Shape: round is assumed, T=tip, P=point, S=suture, OB=oblate, OV=ovate
Pubescence: 10=nectarine
Blush: presented as percentage of ground color cover with red or similar
Freeness: 3=early cling, 8=completely free
Status: 0=discard, 1=keep
Notes: SOS=soft on suture, SOT=soft on tip, RIF=red in flesh, GAS=green around stem
RAP=red around pit, GGC=green ground color, sz=size, wh=white, yt=young tree, CCT=concave tip
Bloom date is when approx. 90% of blooms are open (full bloom)
The description of each variety of peach or nectarine fruit under each group is in different formats as this information is collected from varied sources and hence is not consistent