When to harvest Damson in the UK
Damson is planted rather than sown from seed, so the dates below are harvest dates.
Harvest dates by region
Damson shows the same dates across the whole UK, so every region below reads the same. Where a plant’s timings do follow the frost, Plot shifts them from the Midlands and Lowland Wales baseline using Met Office average frost dates.
| Where you are | Harvest |
|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | early August to early September |
| South Coast and Channel | early August to early September |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | early August to early September |
| South East and Home Counties | early August to early September |
| East Anglia | early August to early September |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | early August to early September |
| Wales and West Coast | early August to early September |
| Northern England | early August to early September |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | early August to early September |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | early August to early September |
| Northern Ireland | early August to early September |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | early August to early September |
Growing notes
The toughest of the stone fruits and a good choice for a colder or northern garden, though in cold sites it crops best trained against a south-, south-west- or west-facing wall. The blue-black fruits ripen in August and are best left on the tree to develop flavour; thin heavy crops so branches do not break.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 450 cm between plants
- Row spacing
- 500 cm
- Plants per m²
- 0.05
- Yield per plant
- 18 kg
- Eventual height
- 450 cm
- Eventual spread
- 400 cm
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- No
- Balcony rating
- 1 out of 5
Pruning: what to avoid
As with plums, never prune damsons during the dormant season or in mid- to late autumn, because of silver leaf and bacterial canker. Prune established trees in summer and young trees in early spring after the buds open; fans get a light prune in early summer and again straight after fruiting.
Pruning group
damson and other stone fruit (summer pruning only)
Bare-root season
Bare-root stock is lifted and sold while dormant, from early November to late March. Container-grown plants can go in at other times of year, but bare-root is cheaper and establishes well.
How long until it crops
Expect the first worthwhile pick about 4 years after planting, and a productive life of roughly 30 years.
What usually goes wrong
- bacterial canker
- silver leaf
- blossom wilt
- frost-damaged blossom
- birds
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for damson.