Santa Rosa plum tree

I have a European plum tree - Santa Rosa variety. It has set minimal fruit most years but one year it had abundant fruit. I thought it was self pollinating but now I'm considering getting another plum to aid in pollination. Can someone please suggest an appropriate variety of plum tree which would be a compatible pollinator.

Thank you. Ann Clements.

 

Santa Rosa is a Japanese plum and supposedly produces more fruit if cross-pollinated by another compatible Japanese plum. My combination plum tree has two other Japanese plums to pollinate the Santa Rosa blossoms, but I don't think that pollination is the problem. Most years the Santa Rosa produces only a few plums, but last year it had a good crop for the one and only time in the more than 20 years that I've had it. I'm pretty sure that the exceptional weather that year was the reason. Early Spring was cold and wet, delaying blossoming; and then the weather suddenly turned warmer and drier just when the Santa Rosa was blooming. I think that it needs warm temperatures at or immediately after blooming, something that does not normally occur here. So providing a pollinator is not likely to increase production.

 

Thank you for the information on the Santa Rosa. We have had similar results to yours - 1 good year in the 10 we've had the tree.

Regards. Ann Clements