Victoria plum finally bursts into blossom

Victoria plum blossom

Three years ago, in March 2011, I bought a Victoria plum tree from B&Q, for £9.98. It was a minor celebration of having my own garden on the sunny south coast.

Within weeks of being planted a single blossom appeared. From that lonely flower came the single, swelling pod of green which became a plum. It ripened and finally I picked it and ate it, savouring each mouthful. My Victoria plum tree has a 100% success rate - every flower had converted into fruit.

For the next two years the tree maintained that 100% success rate. Unfortunately, this achievement came as a result of producing no new blossom in either the spring of 2013 or 2013. The solitary plum from 2011 was the only fruit it had produced and I started to consider replacing the tree.

But this year, 2014, the tree has decided to burst into life. March brought a flush of white flowers, along with nervous anticipation - would any be pollinated? It may have been a mild winter, but there did not seem a lot of insect activity while the flowers were on display.

It's taken three years for the plum tree to come into flower. Will this autumn bring a plum harvest?