A French gage with the classic gage-like flavour, yet whereas most gages prefer warm climates, Oullins Gage also grows well in the cooler climates of the UK and northern Europe. Rated by the noted Victorian writer Hogg as having "exquisite flavour and handsome appearance".
The fruit is large by gage standards - more like a small plum. It is a particularly attractive golden colour, with faint red dots - very pretty in a fruit bowl.
Oullins Gage is equally good for fresh or culinary use. Eaten fresh, the flesh is sweet and gage-like - and far better than most shop-bought plums. For culinary use, pick slightly early when it is still firm. The flavour of Oullins Gage is also fairly consistent between seasons, and it will perform well even in a poor summer.
The stone is semi-clinging.
It is interesting to compare Oullins Gage (a gage but with some plum-like characteristics) with one of its offspring - Opal. Opal is a true plum but best considered as a gage-like plum, since it inherits some of the gage-like flavour of Oullins Gage.
**All prices include delivery (except certain fan-trained or espalier-trained trees). We offer a discount on orders of multiple bare-root trees for delivery at the same time - this will be shown at the checkout.
Fan-trained and Espalier trees: Prices of these trees do NOT include delivery as these require special delivery arrangements - click here for details.
Delivery period: Pot-grown trees can be delivered from September onwards. Bare-root trees can be delivered from mid-November onwards. Within those periods you can specify your preferred month of delivery during the checkout process. It is best to order as soon as you can to ensure items are reserved for you.
*Mature heights: Height shown is the approximate height of the tree when mature (after 5-10 years), not the height when supplied. See photos of trees as supplied. Actual mature heights may vary considerably dependent on your local conditions and training and pruning regime.
Stock availability: Items showing as 'sold out' will probably be available again next season. If you would like to reserve in advance use our enquiry form - this does not commit you to anything.
Oullins Golden Gage is self-fertile and does not need a pollination partner, although fruiting may be improved if there is a compatible tree of a different variety nearby.
Our online pollination checker lists suitable pollination partners for this variety.
More advice about pollination.
Compared to most gages, Oullins Gage is easy to grow and will succeed in more northerly climates than is usual for gages. The growth habit is vigorous and upright - so you may find it helps to tie down new side branches to encourage a more open appearance.
Oullins Gage is also a good pollinator for other mid- or late-flowering plums and gages.
Planting instructions.
Pruning instructions.
France, 1860. According to the English author Hogg (writing in the 1880s), the exact origins are unknown but the variety was first marketed by a M. Massot from the town of Oullins, near Lyon in France.
