Not a Bradford Pear!

Mar 25th 2020

If you see white blossoms with expanding green leaves at the same time, say hello to the Bradford pear following its normal schedule as if it were still in China. Those out-of control Callery pears destroy nature wherever they crop up.

Each year when white, pink and purplish blooms made their surprise appearances among the dormant trees on the hillsides of southeast Oklahoma, my dad would announce spring is here. Those early blooming plums and redbuds, bursting into flower well before the leaves unfurled, were the signal for him to get serious about his garden and fruit trees because the weather was fixing to get warmer.

At least nine different species of plums live somewhere in Oklahoma. Here in the central part of the state we mainly have the sand plum (Prunus angustifolia), the American plum (Prunus americana), and the Mexican plum (Prunus mexicana).

The Mexican plum, native to northern Mexico into central US is the only plum that doesn’t bunch into thickets but forms a striking single-trunked tree, reaching 25 feet in height. It may grow in sun or as an understory tree and tolerates dry to moist soils. The one-inch white flowers are highly scented.

The American plum can go to up 35 feet, also produces fragrant white flowers but is much more cosmopolitan, ranging from southern Canada across the eastern two thirds of the US. This plum sends out suckers with branches lined with sharp little spines that aid thicket development. Unlike its Mexican cousin, the American plum does not like shade and prefers damper earth.

Which brings me to the sand plum. It goes by so many plum names: Chickasaw, Cherokee, Florida sand, mountain cherry, sandhill or just sand plum. The shortest of the plum trio, the sand plum usually tops at perhaps 6-8 feet (with few actually attaining 25 feet in perfect conditions). Originally the shrubby thicket forming trees were only native to Texas and Oklahoma, but they have now been cultivated in other states.

The sand plum loves the wide-open prairies, fence rows, and edges of woods. If the soil is sandy, all the better. The timing of the milky flowers (some trees have flowers that go pink with age) usually coincides with the last frost or freeze of early spring. Some years there are many fruits, other years nothing. The story goes: at the end of July, a lover of sand plum jelly drove down every country road in search of ripe sand plums. After a few off and on years, the person decided to do something about it and planted 400 sand plum bushes. Now each summer there are at least some sand plums!

Not just for fruit, the sand plum is excellent for erosion control. The trees stabilize stream banks and gullies, form sturdy outside rows in windbreaks and control blowing soils. Birds utilize the shrubby trees for nesting, roosting and playing. The thickets are especially important to Bobwhite quail, thrasher, mockingbird, field sparrow, loggerhead shrike and the beautiful painted bunting. As a note of interest, cattle gain more weight and stay cooler when sand plum thickets are left to flourish in the rangeland.

Pollinators are attracted to the sand plum in all its stages. The larvae of the black-waved flannel moth, striped hairstreaks, and the large Cecropia moths, blinded and small-eyed sphinx moths, and tiger swallowtails, to name a few, grow and thrive on the leaves during their cycle of life. In nature it’s often eat or be eaten.

“….wings large and splendid, which were designed to bear a precious burden through the upper air.” Henry David Thoreau (Moth Night at Cambridge MA 1852) commenting on a pair of moth wings floating down as a bird ate the moth.

Add to the list, squirrel, fox, coyote, black bear, deer, raccoons and humans as sand plum connoisseurs. The ripe fruit is rich, sweet and tart. The dark pink or red jelly is amazing on biscuits or bread.

Transplanting the small sand plum should be done in early spring before bud break. It doesn’t need a rich soil since it’s a native, but will appreciate a soil that drains well. Make sure the roots are always in water until the little tree is put into a hole twice the depth and three times the width of the root ball. Time to settle in the transplant. Shovel soil over the roots until barely covered. Fill hole half-way with water and let drain. Fill the hole half-way with soil, top the hole with water, let drain and then finish filling the hole with soil. Press soil down around root zone using hands.

Plant a container grown sand plum. Look on-line or ask your local nursery. For more info: OSU Extension Factsheet HLA-6258 “Sand plums for Home and Commercial Production.”

The sand plum is a must plant tree for your landscape this year. You won’t be sorry.