seasoning plum

[danny f]

hi all i have just got some plum wood from my dads garden, i have read somewhere that it checks easily is this true? i was wondering what the best methods are to season before i possibly ruin the wood. it isnt the best bit of bow wood,  but plum trees are hard to come by so i am gona try and get a bow from this. they look like 2 different types of tree, the bark is different on both of them. the shorter one looks more like cherry to me, but my dad assures me that plums grew on these lol. heres a few pics of them does it look like plum??

[Pat B]

I cut a peach last year. It was about 3" in diameter so I cut out the belly side and strapped it to a form for almost a year. When I took it off the form I took the belly side down a bit and it felt nice and dry.
  With your staves that are bigger I would split them in half(or saw them if they didn't grow twisted), seal the ends and give them time to dry. They are big enough in diameter that they shouldn't twist or warp.

[danny f]

thanks pat, should i leave the bark on them or take it off?