Mexican Plum
- Botanical Name: Prunus mexicanus
- Plant Type: Ornamental Tree
- Light Requirement: Full Sun, Partial Shade
- Water Demand: Low
- Landscape Use: Focal Point/Specimen Plant
- Ornamental Color: White
- Native or Adapted: Native
- Wildlife Value: Birds, Butterflies, Mammals
- Season: Spring
- Deciduous or Evergreen: Deciduous
- Plant Form: Upright
- Region: North Central Texas
- Plant Spread: 15' - 25'
- Plant Height: 15' - 25'
Description
Flower quality and fragrance are excellent. Edible plums.
The Mexican plum is deciduous and the leaves turn yellow in the fall. The Mexican plum is native to the North Texas area. Along with red bud, it is one of the first ornamental trees to bloom in the spring. Its flowers are bright white on bare branches before the leaves appear. As a Mexican plum matures, its bark exfoliates--somewhat like a birch--with bands of dark bluish-purple-gray running horizontal around the trunk. While generally easy to grow in any soil, it can develop problems with bores when stressed. Insects also occasionally eat its leaves. The Mexican plum can tolerate sun but it prefers afternoon shade, since it naturally grows as an understory plant. It does best in a deep, well-drained soil.
Mexican Plum Photos
