Plumcot

Burbank’s original

The plumcot was created by Luther Burbank in California in the 1880s — the same horticulturist who transformed the global plum industry. Burbank crossed the Japanese plum with the apricot, creating a 50/50 hybrid that combined both parents’ best traits.

His original plumcots were not commercial successes — too soft, too prone to disease — but they laid the genetic foundation for a long lineage of better hybrids that came in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The aprium-pluot family tree

Modern stone-fruit hybrids are categorized by their genetic mix:

• Plumcot — 50% plum, 50% apricot (the original)
• Pluot — ~75% plum, 25% apricot
• Aprium — ~75% apricot, 25% plum
• Apriplum — variant naming

These distinctions came from California breeder Floyd Zaiger in the 1980s and 1990s — Zaiger Genetics holds patents on dozens of these hybrids, sold under names like Dapple Dandy, Flavor King, Dinosaur Egg, and Splash.

Pluots dominate the supermarket

In American supermarkets, most “plum” displays are actually pluots rather than pure plums or original plumcots. The pluot’s slight apricot content gives it sweeter flesh, more aromatic flavor, and longer shelf life than pure plums.

Many shoppers don’t know the distinction — they just notice that “plums seem better than they used to be.” That’s because they’re not really pure plums anymore.

Trademark wars

Many stone-fruit hybrid names are trademarks owned by Zaiger Genetics or Driscoll’s — a complex landscape that means the same fruit might be called different things at different stores. “Pluot” is the most generic name; “Dapple Dandy,” “Flavor Grenade,” and similar are specific patented cultivars.

For consumers, the practical advice is: at a farmers’ market in California or Italy in midsummer, ask for the latest seasonal stone-fruit hybrids — they’re often the most exciting fresh fruit of the year.