Plums

[S.T.Fanatic]

I sent an email to a guy that I go to church with that is the head of our local SWCD. I asked him if there would be any plums on the spring order this year. He said he would put a call into the nursery and see what he could do. A couple days later he sends me an email stating that the 2021 spring tree order was posted and that he put plums on the list.

I would like to plant a long row of them on the upper end of a West facing slope that boarders a crop field. (It is the grassy area south of one of my food plots that a box blind faces on my property tour). I've read that if you plant them close together the form a nice thick hedge. That is what I am aiming to do. We planted 4 apple trees in the grassy area this spring and have intent on planting more of them in the future along with switch and a pollinator mix.

Just wondering if some of you have planted plums and what your experience was/is with them.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

We have planted them as individual trees and in clumps to form thickets. They are probably one of the fastest and easiest growing trees you can plant. We used tree tubes with the individuals and they outgrew the top of the tube (~4ft) within the first growing season. We ordered ours from Missouri Department of Conservation.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Have a bunch.
They are great in various situations.
Thick and nasty that predators want no part of. Great for bunnies, birds and bucks.

My only complaint is they seem to be short lived. 15 years and they seem to start to fade out. Can stand heavy snow loads, break and regrow but just thin out over time.

Plum quality seems to be hit and miss with frosts. We pick a bunch for wine. Think coons and other small critters clean up most of them.

Bucks love to rub on them. Browse pressure seems to be fairly tolerable with out killing the shrub, and fairly quick to grow.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

How close do you want to plant them to form a thick row? I would just be planting one long row more than likely.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Depends on windward or leeward but 3-6ft for a hedgerow.

Single row - I would go 4 or 5ft

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Plums are great and if you plant them 3' apart they will form a thicket eventually. Well they will likely form a thicket even if you plant them farther apart, but it will get there faster with closer spacing. I've had really good luck growing plums by picking a bucket of them off the tree or ground in late August or September when they are ripe. Plant them under an inch of dirt within a few days and you will have a plum thicket at no charge a few years down the road.

Plum seedlings will get browsed, so if you have extra tree cages laying around you could put them around a few just to see the difference. I planted some in 2013 and those growing in a random corner that the deer missed are 8' tall and producing fruit already. Those growing more out in the open were browsed heavily and are only 2' tall, but still holding their own.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

I wanted to gather seed locally but didn't get around to it. That would be a good way to fill in the space over the years depending on how far apart I end up planting them.

 

[buckdeer1]

Are these american plums?I planted some as seedlings but they haven't produced fruit yet

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

Yes


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[TreeDaddy]

virtually every state dept of conservation carries them

bill

 

[sandbur]

Years back, somebody posted that a light disking of the roots from an old thicket can stimulate growth.

It might be worth a try. This was for American plum.


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[rocksnstumps]

Everyone's situation can vary but for me american plum has not been the same results as posted by others. Planted several dozen about 15 yrs ago. I'm on a hill with sandy loam. No thickets formed, trees grow slow and I have since decided to not plant anymore. I have crab apples that grow much, much faster and for thickets can't keep the prickly ash from running amuck in most open areas. No joke, had plums planted 15 ft away from an old fence line and the prickly ash marched out that 15 ft surrounded the plum, overtopped them, kicked their ass growth wise and twice on Sundays.

Now there are plum thickets growing along road ditches not that far away. They have been there for at least 20 yrs. Not sure how long it took for them to grow that thick but I think heavy soils helps or at least being along a ditch and getting a fair amount of moisture makes a big difference. Yes I know that some southern varieties do well in in drier areas. To emphasize with a double negative, these ain't not them type of plums.

Just posting my experiences. YMMV

 

[Jimmy G]

My results are the same as rocksnstumps...im sandy here in Minnesota and my plums are growing really slow. No thicket forming yet.

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[S.T.Fanatic]

Can’t find a grain of sand on the entire property so I should be ok in that regard. Thanks for adding both of your experiences with them.


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[BrushyPines]

Anyone have a clue on Chickasaw and Mexican plums? My hunting property has some sandy soil.

 

[bwoods11]

American Plum has been one of my best shrubs/trees on sandy soil in MN!

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Is there any chance the sandy ground plums were just getting browsed harder than the other species? I have some sections of sandy soil with organic matter around only 1% and the plums do really well there. The young ones are heavily browsed though, so they appear to be slow growing but they really are just heavily pruned by the deer!

 

[rocksnstumps]

^^^ in my case no, plums were always protected like everything I plant and growth proceeds at glacial timeframes. I do have some isolated wild plums in old fence lines I did not plant that are tall enough to be above browsing but they also exhibit slow growth. In fact about every 5 yrs I have to whack the prickly ash back or they disappear behind a wall of other growth.

Perhaps some sandy sites have a higher water table in the spot or maybe a bit of a clay layer in random areas for those that have good growth with them.

Just noting some species and soils just not good combos. The same sandy loam on my place is however great for crab apples and northern red oak. Has one of the highest oak site indexes for my county and inline with the top indexes for entire state of WI. I can get plenty of stuff to grow well, not plums.

 

[rocksnstumps]

As a further note, my hill is a glacial drumlin formation common in parts of Wisconsin and has a bunch of rock and soils jumbled together with some slope and flat spots along ridgelines. It was never an old lake or river bed type of thing common in central part of state that is more sandy.

 

[ToddG]

I have clay soil and the American Plum has been a very slow grower for me.