Spreading American plum thicket

Most state forestrys have them,you said the seeds weren't sprouting,I believe they have to be scarified "pass through an animal or bird"
 
I have Plum suckering all over on one of my farms . I’ve seen a few of the new ones that have produced plums as well !
 
I've had good luck collecting the plums when they drop off the trees in early fall and immediately plant them under an inch of dirt. I usually throw in some bur oak acorns since they drop at the same time. Just walk around with a bucket of plums and acorns and drop a few here and there and cover with a little dirt. Both will get browsed without tree cages, but it is a great way to get a plum thicket for free.
 
Plums are one of my favorite shrubs of the many I have planted. I have them in different scenarios, some in a very low spot that will hold a foot or more of water every other spring or so after heavy rains. Most of those are struggling. I have some about three feet higher along the edge of the area that floods, this is very rich black dirt and I would say these 15 or so are all thriving, after 5-7 years in the ground there was lots of suckering and they were probably 3-4” trunk diameter. I also have some on top of a hill in a drier situation and while they are doing well they are not as big or suckering nearly as much as the ones on the edge of the flooded areas. All said, they are probably my favorite habitat shrub for my place in southern Michigan
 
I cracked the shells on them

i ruined half but some look great
I got a bundle of 25 from the Iowa DNR nursery, couple feet tall. Still young but growing well so far. They do ship out of state.
 
Kansas state carries the sandhill plum

I planted 50 to divide a food plot several years ago and couldn't be more pleased

Great screen/thicket easily controlled with mowing

excellent fruit production

bill
 
Planted 2019, first fruits

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Graft took and has exploded


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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 .



I've planted some on the East side of a North South fence line.

Have you found that they spread toward the existing growth or toward the open field/area?
 
I've planted some on the East side of a North South fence line.

Have you found that they spread toward the existing growth or toward the open field/area?
Mine I would have to say both. I have mine planted on a berm of a pond that runs north and south, two staggered rows about 8 feet apart. They are spreading to both the north and south making the plum tree line longer. To the south it is shaded by some large box elders but they don't seem to mind it one bit. They are spreading under them. They also suckered all around the larger original trees and basically made a wall of trees. I also have a few that are spreading west towards a open field. It seems which ever way their roots run they will shoot up suckers of them.
 
I had a fire that went through my plums this spring, that I had planted last spring. The fire killed off the original planting, but the suckers popping up are almost as tall as the plantings were. They are hardy.
 
The ones I have and have seen look an awful lot like buckthorn and I've accidentally murdered some thinking they were buckthorn and accidentally spared some buckthorn thinking they might be plums.. I didn't even know what they were until @SWIFFY squared me away on what I thought were nasty buckthorn thickets on his place actually being plum thickets.
 
The ones I have and have seen look an awful lot like buckthorn and I've accidentally murdered some thinking they were buckthorn and accidentally spared some buckthorn thinking they might be plums.. I didn't even know what they were until @SWIFFY squared me away on what I thought were nasty buckthorn thickets on his place actually being plum thickets.
I have done the exact same thing, more times than I can count!
 
After reading this thread, I think my question is answered, but....
I have some plums that I caged and weed matted three years ago(entering 4th growing season), the ones that are protected have started growing out of the cages (see pics). Do I need to remove the weed mat for them to start suckering or will they just sucker outside the mat/cage? We have a high deer density with relatively low quality forage in the late fall/winter so any new unprotected growth is at a big risk. I plan to move the cage to protect the suckering when it starts.
When will suckering start and when should I expect fruit?
These are American plum variety located in SE MN.

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I’ve heard raking the ground around the outside of the cage will encourage suckering, a technique I’ve yet to try


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I didn't see this posted here before, but I think this method would work well with plums.

 
I think some species or biotypes of plum spread by suckers a lot better than others. I have a few plum trees that have not suckered at all and are about 15 ft tall with trunks that are about 6 inches wide, so clearly mature. Other plums around our properties spread really aggressively and have a completely different growth habit. It seems like most suckers are about 12 to 18 inches from the parent plant.
This is the first year I've begun to put some plums that I've bought from MDC into cages in an effort to encourage suckering. MDC says that you are getting one of five different species of wild plum. So far they have grown really well in tree tubes with most growing out of a 5' tube in 2 years. The most mature seedling trees that I have planted will be on their 6th year and none have spread by suckers yet that I can tell.
 
After reading this thread, I think my question is answered, but....
I have some plums that I caged and weed matted three years ago(entering 4th growing season), the ones that are protected have started growing out of the cages (see pics). Do I need to remove the weed mat for them to start suckering or will they just sucker outside the mat/cage? We have a high deer density with relatively low quality forage in the late fall/winter so any new unprotected growth is at a big risk. I plan to move the cage to protect the suckering when it starts.
When will suckering start and when should I expect fruit?
These are American plum variety located in SE MN.

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You might see a few flowers this spring or next. Once my plums hit about 6' tall, they start to flower and produce fruit. That's about the time that they start to send out suckers as well. It won't make much difference if you leave the weed mat or pull it - the suckers will be sent out beyond that area, but removing the mat might give you a few bonus shoots closer to the mother tree.

Is that a little boxelder that is growing right next to the plum trunk? I can't really tell for sure, but it looks like you have something competing with your plum.
 
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