Sand Plum is Chickasaw Plum, Sand Hill Plum, Mountain Cherry, Prunus angustifolia
Prunus angustifolia has many names but is delicious both for wildlife and human consumption.
We drove over to Arkansas a few days ago to visit Pine Ridge Gardens and buy a few shrubs for our back acre where we have fruit and food for wildlife.
Sand Plums are a great source of jelly making fruit if you can get any before wildlife takes them all.
Chickasaw plum plants grow 15 feet tall and wide in a twiggy form.
The bark is black and the stems are reddish.
Feb through May, small white flowers and little red plums appear. The flowers have five white petals with reddish or orange anthers. The plums are cherry-like and tend to be quite tart until they fully ripen later in the summer.
Chickasaw Plums thrive in low water, loose, sandy soil with sun to part-shade. The ones I planted two years ago have died without forming clumps because the area became too shady.
I asked MaryAnn King, owner of Pine Ridge, if she had any special planting suggestions and she responded, "They grow alongside the road so you know what to do."
Since I'd like to have many more than I could afford to purchase, I'm going to try my hand at propagating them by cuttings.
Pine Ridge Gardens has provided many of the native plants we have added to our backyard landscape in the past 15 years. King sells at her nursery (open houses continue this month) as well as selling at many festivals around the Tulsa area.
This is the ideal time to plant shrubs, trees, spring blooming bulbs, garlic, onions, perennial flower seeds, native plant seeds, etc.
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| Fall in the Ozarks |
We drove over to Arkansas a few days ago to visit Pine Ridge Gardens and buy a few shrubs for our back acre where we have fruit and food for wildlife.
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| Native Sand Plums |
Chickasaw plum plants grow 15 feet tall and wide in a twiggy form.
The bark is black and the stems are reddish.
 |
| MaryAnn King and Candy |
Chickasaw Plums thrive in low water, loose, sandy soil with sun to part-shade. The ones I planted two years ago have died without forming clumps because the area became too shady.
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| Native range Prunus angustifolia |
In 1874 they were cultivated by Native Americans and early settlers to be used as a food source, cover for livestock, windbreaks, erosion control and wildlife food. If you want them for your kitchen, protect the plants from rabbits, deer, birds, squirrels, etc.
I asked MaryAnn King, owner of Pine Ridge, if she had any special planting suggestions and she responded, "They grow alongside the road so you know what to do."
Since I'd like to have many more than I could afford to purchase, I'm going to try my hand at propagating them by cuttings.
 |
| Pine Ridge Gardens native nursery |
Pine Ridge Gardens has provided many of the native plants we have added to our backyard landscape in the past 15 years. King sells at her nursery (open houses continue this month) as well as selling at many festivals around the Tulsa area.
This is the ideal time to plant shrubs, trees, spring blooming bulbs, garlic, onions, perennial flower seeds, native plant seeds, etc.
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