Photo: Andrew Ciscel, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
American Plum
Prunus americana
Also called wild plum, common plum.
A thicket-forming wild plum with fragrant white spring bloom and tart red-yellow fruit for jelly and wildlife.
Showy flowersEdibleWildlife valueDrought tolerant
- Type
- Small tree
- Mature height
- 15–25 ft
- USDA zones
- 3–8
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Sun
- Full · Part
- Soil moisture
- Average · Dry
210
American plum is the hardiest native plum, growing from the Canadian prairies to Georgia. Its suckering habit makes a fast, thorny hedgerow that shelters songbirds; the fruit ripens in August and makes superb jam. Tolerates drought, wind and poor soil. Fruit set is best with two or more seedlings.
Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. Estimate growth for this species →
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