I was in a very similar situation 8 years ago, having just moved to a place where I expected to only stay about as long as you're talking about. I went ahead and planted as much as I had space for with little or no thought about bearing age, and I'm glad I did. I might have gotten some apples my last year there except for a severe late freeze, so I never got any apples, but the trees I planted -- I only paid $3 each for fresh grafts -- were worth much more than that just as a learning experience in pruning and training. They were also a lesson in record-keeping: if I hadn't failed in keeping track of which tree was which, I would have found them a valuable source for scionwood. And if I had moved just a year earlier, I think I might still have transplanted them to my new place. There were other things that I did successfully take with me (whole blueberry bushes as well as some runners I separated, some serviceberry runners, layered figs and muscadines...) Perhaps most valuable, having apple trees led me to think about and explore fruit things further, so when I moved again I planted a lot of other/new things that I'm very glad I have now but that I probably wouldn't have planted if I hadn't already had a little experience with the more common things. So based on my experience, my recommendation would be to just plant the things that most interested me, and I think that will likely prove the most valuable (in wiser decisions about what to plant in 3-4 years, in better understanding of how to care for (and possibly propagate) what you're most interested in, in transplants/layerings/scionwood/seedlings..., etc.)

Laura: My experience with Green Gage may not be typical. I think the tree came from Millers in NY, and I do not know the rootstock, which they do not specify unless asked. Nevertheless, it is well sited in excellent soil, and I have been pruning and shaping it for years, while watching little clusters of blooms in spring that seldom set fruit. One year it actually did have 3-4 plums, but they fell victim to surface mildew. This season it had more blooms than normal, and appears to have set some plums, but the jury is still out until they begin to really grow. I am sure they will be delicious plums if I ever get some. In contrast, a Japanese/American hybrid right nearby, actually a few years younger than the Green Gage, is covered with little plums, and will require extensive thinning. I am not really the expert to ask on plums. I pretty much like them all. Maybe your Stanley will surprise you next season, and it is a great plum for canning/preserving, but a little interior pruning in late July/early August can't hurt to expose the interior to more sunlight. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

my meyer was 3' tall when i bought it a few years ago the first two years it had about 10-12 fruit, as they fruit got bigger and started weighing down the branches, and then the trunk started to bend towards one side, that's when i thinned out some of the fruit. i kept the green lemons and used them to flavor my ice water and iced tea. your tree is limber, but if you feel there's too many fruits on one branch and its bending more then you feel comfortable with, feel free to pick a few to lighten the load. as far as whether your tree has enough energy to support that many fruit, don't worry, if it can't it'll drop a few of them. from the time it blooms to the time the fruits mature, there's usually 2-3 phases of natural fruit drop so not to overburden the tree.

In my opinion, for the 2nd year tree, I would either remove flower buds now or let them flowers (if you want to see how beautiful it looks) and remove all flowering clusters after that. Such a young tree should waste energy to produce fruit in its 2nd year. Let the tree uses its energy to grow and establish. You'll get better a return of your investment in the long run. Also, young trees often abort their fruitlets when they are not ready. I'd rather help the tree now before it goes that far.