The plums will let you know when they are ready. They will start looking irresistible according to the variety, bright color, sweet smell, fat & juicy looking. You just know

When they're ripe - depends on the variety of plum quite when that is, so keep an eye on them and when they're looking the right colour, which might be green (for a greengage) yellow or purplish black, pick one or two to test. Greengage varieties might be ready as soon as late May, early June, others not till much later, July or August, or September.

Thank you for your advice. They are the purple variety. Will keep a close eye on them. Want to harvest before the wasps start getting interested in them. Much appreciated.

Looks like your wasps will tell you when they are ripe. Right now they are cleaning off your tree of pests. Harvest them in the early morning before the flying insects heat up enough to buzz off. This time of year though they are no problem. It's late summer early fall that they become more aggressive. Also don't apply anything to yourself that has a flowery sent to it or you will find yourself their main attraction.

I always bring a bag of red seedless plums with me to the beach. In fact, that's what I'm doing today. Enjoy the July 4th weekend.

And I'd add to Loosestrife's advice, don't wear yellow or orange to pick them past mid July - they love those colours!

And to our American friends, enjoy July 4th weekend, which I understand is some sort of celebratory holiday - its just another weekend here, of no particular import. Well, other than I passed my driving test on 4th July years ago, but that's personal to me, obviously...

Thank You Bamboo...as I understand it was some kind of exit for us too:)

Yea, I believe it was, but my historical knowledge is appallingly bad...

Excuse my intrusion on your plum question but I felt obliged to expand the conversation on when plums are being eaten by Bathgate.
From Wikipeia - Independence Day, also referred to as the Fourth of July or July Fourth, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence 241 years ago on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and were no longer part of the British Empire. The Congress actually voted to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2

We have a Victoria plum which produces enough fruit for us and the wasps. It is ready around mid July to mid August.

Thank you Scotsgran. It was the to be our second president and signer of our declaration John Adams who recommended that this day should be celebrated with (in his words) shows, games, bells, guns, all sorts of illumination and so on......but nowhere does he mention the consumption of red seedless plums.

Seedless plum, Loosestrife? Surely that's what we'd call a prune, isn't it? In other words, its not fresh off a tree and usually they're black, or is there some type of plum you guys grow and I've never heard of that doesn't have a stone? Intriguing if there is...

Thanks Scotsgran for the explanation, I know it as Independence Day (which is why I thought it was serendipitous that I passed my driving test that day) but why do I have in my head somewhere that its something to do with tea?

Apologies Xera, for expanding your thread...

Yes. I'm sure Bath meant that he was taking to the beach were a bag of dried red plumbs with the stone taken out...aka...prunes. Now prunes have a good content of sorbitol in them so if Bath is going to finish off that whole bag of prunes on the beach I hope he places himself equidistant between the water and the water closet:)

You can enjoy your prunes way over there and I'm glad the currents are flowing in your direction. I'll stay with my Red Seedless plums - you won't get 'the runs' or have to deal with that awkward pit in public because there ain't none. Of course they're fresh off the tree or I wouldn't be taking them with me. Plums are not prunes and I don't eat prunes.

I have never seen a fresh seedless plum before. Must be a new variety.

Loose Red Seedless plums are rather ubiquitous at every farmers' market or fruit stand this time of year. The folks in the UK may not get it. Go get you some.

Loosestrife: that's not the effect prunes have on me, its quite another effect that renders one unsuitable company - but I love them. The Polish delis sell chocolate covered stoned prunes, they're huge and moist and absolutely delicious, irresistible.

Every good hotel will have set out a nice big bowl of prunes for those who slow down to jet lag. Sorbitol found in prunes which is higher in content in them than prune juice,draws water into the large intestine and in the small intestine causes the bacteria to produce large quantities of hydrogen gas. Those who overdo it with prunes for breakfast in Rome and get on a bus for a trip to see Pompeii will in a little while feel like mount Vesuvius ready to blow.

Exactly;-))