ORGANISERS of the Pershore Plum Festival have revealed British plums will be harder to find this year, especially the iconic Victoria plums, and it’s all down to the extreme weather faced by farmers in 2019.
Plums are one of the most weather-dependant crops grown in the UK and the late frosts followed by a continued dry spell, then a deluge of rain and hail has wreaked havoc with the fruit.
Angela Tidmarsh, of Wychavon District Council, said: “We noticed how few plum trees were flowering when we ran our popular blossom trail coach tours earlier this year.
“The Plum Festival runs throughout August with growers and orchard owners promising to provide us with all the plums they can.
“A reasonable crop of Czars, the first plums to appear, is expected, but varieties like the Yellow Egg Plum and the Pershore Purples will be in shorter supply.
“Last year there was a glut of Victoria plums but this year they’re going to be more of a rarity.”
More than 30,000 people turn out for Pershore Plum Festival’s annual August Bank Holiday weekend finale.
The month-long event features a race night at Worcester racecourse on Tuesday (July 30), a plum festival bike night and the town’s shops take part in a window dressing competition.
Visit www.pershoreplumfestival.org.uk for more details.
