Spreading American plum thicket

[ruskbucks]

Just wanted to put up a few pics of my plum trees and how fast they are spreading and growing for anyone that might be thinking about planting some. You can see the mother trees in the back, all the light green trees and sticks are root suckers that have shot off the row of the 7 original plums. Some of the new trees are 20 ft from the trunks of the original trees. They even popped up on the other side of my atv path. I highly recommend plum. They grow fast, hardy, form quick cover, spread themselves , and provide fruit for you and wildlife. The only knock I have is the fruit only last about 2 weeks. Everything thing seems to eat them .

 

[Jerry-B-WI]

Do the deer browse the plants? How long since you planted the original plants?

 

[ruskbucks]

I haven't noticed any browse on these, but I don't have alot of deer on this property. My hunting property in Northern Wisconsin I have noticed some browse not too bad . I think just a couple years in a cage and let them free. They seem so tough. I think the original trees are around 7 or 8 years old. I have had bumper crops last 2 years and looks like another this year. I think I had first fruit at 4 years. I'm going to try transplanting some of these suckers to my other property.

 

[buckdeer1]

My american plum trees haven't spread at all,but my sandhill plum do spread

 

[g squared 23]

I grafted a couple toka scions to wild plums I planted a couple years ago, I’m hoping to extend the drop time a bit.


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[fishin coyote]

Very nice, I’m looking forward to the day mine look like that. It will be a few years though as I just got done putting 25 seedlings in the ground today.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

The plums at our farms in Northern MO do get browsed pretty heavily. We protect all of our plantings in either tree tubes or cages until they're above the brows line of the deer.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Just wanted to put up a few pics of my plum trees and how fast they are spreading and growing for anyone that might be thinking about planting some. You can see the mother trees in the back, all the light green trees and sticks are root suckers that have shot off the row of the 7 original plums. Some of the new trees are 20 ft from the trunks of the original trees. They even popped up on the other side of my atv path. I highly recommend plum. They grow fast, hardy, form quick cover, spread themselves , and provide fruit for you and wildlife. The only knock I have is the fruit only last about 2 weeks. Everything thing seems to eat them .

It’s funny, we hardly have buds on bushes, and trees yet, grass is barely green at all, in fact it was white again this morning.

We have been so wet up here, my yard is saturated.

 

[ruskbucks]

It’s funny, we hardly have buds on bushes, and trees yet, grass is barely green at all, in fact it was white again this morning.

We have been so wet up here, my yard is saturated.

I felt like spring would never get here in Southern Wisconsin. I don't know if I could handle up there. I did cut my grass once so far. Chestnut crab and plums are in bloom but that's it.

 

[loshonhora]

Just wanted to put up a few pics of my plum trees and how fast they are spreading and growing for anyone that might be thinking about planting some. You can see the mother trees in the back, all the light green trees and sticks are root suckers that have shot off the row of the 7 original plums. Some of the new trees are 20 ft from the trunks of the original trees. They even popped up on the other side of my atv path. I highly recommend plum. They grow fast, hardy, form quick cover, spread themselves , and provide fruit for you and wildlife. The only knock I have is the fruit only last about 2 weeks. Everything thing seems to eat them

How old are those original mother trees?

 

[ruskbucks]

How old are those original mother trees?

I think year 7.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I just planted 50 American Plum last spring, I am hoping they all come back this year. I had driven by them a couple weeks ago, after most of the snow melted, they just looked like sticks in cages. I will need to wait until stuff greens up more to see if they came back.

I have found a couple ticks so far this year, so time to start the permethrin spray.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Rusk,
What kind of soil conditions do you have? I have had some plums planted close to 20 yrs and still runty shrubs and no spreading whatsoever at my land with sandy rocky uplands. This is true for several doz planted yrs ago

Have wild ones by my house where there is heavy clay and along ditches they do tend to fair much better. Where I live is also 1/2 growing zone warmer.

 

[ruskbucks]

Rusk,
What kind of soil conditions do you have? I have had some plums planted close to 20 yrs and still runty shrubs and no spreading whatsoever at my land with sandy rocky uplands. This is true for several doz planted yrs ago

Have wild ones by my house where there is heavy clay and along ditches they do tend to fair much better. Where I live is also 1/2 growing zone warmer.

They are planted in a heavy peat soil on the bank of our pond. When we dug our pond it was 8 feet of peat before we hit Grey clay. We had a fire pit back there and in spring we started digging the pond . The peat was smoking after going thru the whole winter. Really strange. I didn't think it was very good soil, but I could be wrong. I have a antavonka apple next to the plums that is growing like crazy . I read they are supposed to be slow. My plums I planted up north are not doing nearly as good. I put those in tubes and didn't like the way they grew. I started some more in cages this time.

 

[ruskbucks]

I just planted 50 American Plum last spring, I am hoping they all come back this year. I had driven by them a couple weeks ago, after most of the snow melted, they just looked like sticks in cages. I will need to wait until stuff greens up more to see if they came back.

I have found a couple ticks so far this year, so time to start the permethrin spray.

Hope they make it. Should be the first ones to wake up along with elderberry. Be careful with those ticks in your area. My mother in law, two of her friends, and my wife's aunt all had lymes or ehrlichiosis. They are all about 15 miles east of you.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Plums can really be stunted by deer browsing as well. I planted a bunch of american plums 10 years ago at my place in SE MN. The trees planted by a fenceline that had blackcap bushes nearby are now probably 15' tall and dropping huge amounts of fruit every year. The blackcap bushes were like a natural tree cage and protected those trees from browsing. Trees I planted in the same soil type, but only 10 yards away are only 3' tall and scrubby looking since most of the new growth is browsed every year.

 

[PatinPA]

I planted a bunch of Sand hill plum seedlings. I think they're in about year three. Anything that sticks out of the cages gets browsed off.

 

[Angus 1895]

Where does one get plum seedlings?

I have seeds but they are not sprouting.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Plums can really be stunted by deer browsing as well. I planted a bunch of american plums 10 years ago at my place in SE MN. The trees planted by a fenceline that had blackcap bushes nearby are now probably 15' tall and dropping huge amounts of fruit every year. The blackcap bushes were like a natural tree cage and protected those trees from browsing. Trees I planted in the same soil type, but only 10 yards away are only 3' tall and scrubby looking since most of the new growth is browsed every year.

Everything planted that is a shrub or tree besides thousands of spruce are protected on my land or will result in what you have seen. They just do not thrive like the oaks and crabapples planted at same time. My theory is American/Canadian plum do much better with moister soil conditions. Roadside ditches do have patches not far from my land and have observed wild ones in fence lines on my land that just grow slowly. In fact regularly have to cut back the prickly ash that kicks the plums butt. Getting spreading patches of prickly ash happens all over my hill so don't need plum to provide thicker areas and plums are not gettin it done.

Just want others reading this thread to maybe try small plantings and see results before going whole hog into it or maybe have similar conditions to those on here that really have success.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Where does one get plum seedlings?

I have seeds but they are not sprouting.

Cold stream Farms does/used to sell them as I believe that is where the Sportsman's group got the ones I obtained.

The MI folks also get into speckled alder for cover and think they sell that as well. In remembrance of Bishes, enjoyed reading his postings on another forum yrs ago.