Plums

Chickasaw or sand plums make some of the best thickets ever.I have 5-10 big patches I have planted and some are 6 ft tall.Produce great fruit and every critter including deer eat them.But these american plums must need really good soil and mine are maybe 6 years old and sand plums planted same day are producing fruit and cover and the Americans are just kind of standing there
 
Anyone have any nursery recommendations? Was told they may not be on the list through our local conservation program we buy trees from normally and would prefer Chickasaw or Sand anyways and they typically just have American.
 
Chickasaw or sand plums make some of the best thickets ever.I have 5-10 big patches I have planted and some are 6 ft tall.Produce great fruit and every critter including deer eat them.But these american plums must need really good soil and mine are maybe 6 years old and sand plums planted same day are producing fruit and cover and the Americans are just kind of standing there
Makes me feel better about the chickasaw plums!
 
Anyone have any nursery recommendations? Was told they may not be on the list through our local conservation program we buy trees from normally and would prefer Chickasaw or Sand anyways and they typically just have American.
I purchased mine from Nativ Nurseries. Mine are in 3 gallon pots at the moment, but growing well. Still havent figured out where I want to plant them on my property yet.
 
Kansas forestry or MO forestry both sell good seedlings.Right around 15.00 for 25.Use root slurry,don't let the roots stand in air for even a minute.Unpack keep moist and keep in root slurry while planting.Don't J root,trim roots is better than J rooting.I planted my last ones just wide enough I could mow between rows the first year.I found the deer will lay between the rows.
 
Has anyone ever had luck direct planting/shoving fruit in the ground on plums?
 
Buy 25 or whatever number of plum seedlings and/or plugs and protect them. In a matter of years you will see shoots of new suckers off the plum tree (all free)!
 
Buy 25 or whatever number of plum seedlings and/or plugs and protect them. In a matter of years you will see shoots of new suckers off the plum tree (all free)!
do they root easily or do they need to be grafted?
 
They are super easy to get going. I do think they need to be protected though. I had several that were in tree tubes that were destroyed by deer to get at the new buds.
 
They are super easy to get going. I do think they need to be protected though. I had several that were in tree tubes that were destroyed by deer to get at the new buds.

I don't tube a terrible lot, so if I shove any in the ground I'll fence some and let the suckers run elsewhere
 
I don't tube a terrible lot, so if I shove any in the ground I'll fence some and let the suckers run elsewhere
That's what my plan is for this spring. Just rotate the cages every 2-3 years as the saplings get large enough to survive the browse pressure.
 
Has anyone ever had luck direct planting/shoving fruit in the ground on plums?
I've planted a lot of plums that way. I collect the fruit in late summer when it drops on the ground and then plant within a few days. I typically collect a few bur oak acorns at the same time and drop a couple plums and a couple acorns, cover with an inch or two of dirt. If you repeat that about 100 times you will have some free plums and oaks. You may be surprised how well that works and a bucket of plums will give you hundreds of trees for just a couple hours of labor.
 
I've planted a lot of plums that way. I collect the fruit in late summer when it drops on the ground and then plant within a few days. I typically collect a few bur oak acorns at the same time and drop a couple plums and a couple acorns, cover with an inch or two of dirt. If you repeat that about 100 times you will have some free plums and oaks. You may be surprised how well that works and a bucket of plums will give you hundreds of trees for just a couple hours of labor.

I think I may order only a handful of plums with a tree order I'm already planning, and leave this as the main way to get them going. I have access to a property in Michigan a friend owns that said I'm welcome to all the plum fruit I can gather. Figure I'll take a bucket and fill it. Even 25% survival rate + gas to travel is INCREDIBLY cheaper.
 
I've planted a lot of plums seedlings that I ordered from the DNR state nursery and they didn't do any better than the random plums I dropped on the ground and covered with a little dirt. The plum fruit is ripe during late summer, so you can plant the fruit at a time of year when you won't be rushing to plant other things.
 
I've planted a lot of plums that way. I collect the fruit in late summer when it drops on the ground and then plant within a few days. I typically collect a few bur oak acorns at the same time and drop a couple plums and a couple acorns, cover with an inch or two of dirt. If you repeat that about 100 times you will have some free plums and oaks. You may be surprised how well that works and a bucket of plums will give you hundreds of trees for just a couple hours of labor.

What is your success rate % on that Ben? I was thinking on the Bur Oak Acorns I pop in the ground ...I am getting maybe 10% or less? Are you higher? I think squirrels and other critters get most of them.
 
I'm not sure about the survival rate since I don't know how many acorns I planted, but I do know that I have a lot of young oak trees and plums growing where I dropped acorns and plums several years ago. I usually put a couple acorns and plums in each spot though in case squirrels or mice ate some of the acorns or plums.

I don't have many squirrels though where these were planted, so that may have helped my survival rate.
 
If you plant the sand plum seedlings just get them in the ground,don't know if you could kill them.The last planting I did I planted 8 ft apart on the rows and let NWSG grow up between them and it's making great cover.Heres some next to a 6ft ladder
 

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If you plant the sand plum seedlings just get them in the ground,don't know if you could kill them.The last planting I did I planted 8 ft apart on the rows and let NWSG grow up between them and it's making great cover.Heres some next to a 6ft ladder
Not a very good picture
 

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Attached are 2 photos of 2 plums in 2017 (they are about 20-30% larger now) that were planted 3' apart in 2013 or 2014. As the 2nd photo reveals, they do get browsed; I caged them for the first 2-3 years for protection. Eventually, they got tall enough with growth above the browse line. If they get adequate sun, they will make a great screen since they are very thick.

As bwoods points out, lower limbs touching the ground will produce suckers that can be transplanted .... you can weigh limbs down to encourage suckers.
 

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do they grow good in damp areas? Like on a transition line from woods to swamp?
 
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