Plum

American Plum (Prunus americana)

Size: 8′ to 20′ tall/ 10-15′ spread.

Flowering: early-mid May

Fruiting: September

Birds: warblers attracted to pollenating insects. Fruit eaten by larger birds such as robins, orioles, blackbirds, or some woodpeckers

One of my personal favorites for the insect attracting flowers in the spring, and the edible fruits (for me) in the fall. American Plum is a multi-stemmed, shrubby, small tree with a spreading crown reaching up to 30 feet tall with numerous rigid spiny branches. Readily suckers from roots. American plum is a great native plant for wildlife because it bears small tasty plums in the fall. The native plum has a fast growth rate, and is also good for wind breaks. the flowers are White, long filaments, and appear in small clusters in early spring with the leaves. The fruit is a fleshy drupe, nearly round, 1 inch across, reddish-purple to yellow-brown some glaucous bloom, ripen in mid to late summer.

Cherries

Pin Cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) 10-30′ tall/spread. Pin cherry is a small common tree inhabiting a great variety of lands in the northern part of the United States and Canada. It is sometimes called fire cherry for its value as a reforesting agent after forest fires. It forms pure stands that provide shade for seedlings of slower growing species, then dies off, making way for the new trees. Twigs are red, with buds clustered at or near the twig tips. White, rose-like, flowers appear in late spring, followed by a red, round, hanging fruit.

Sand Cherry (Prunus pumila) 50′ tall/spread. As its name suggests, this species only does well in well drained soils. A familiar low shrub of coastal dunes, this creeping plant can be found along most sandy lake shores, making it a beneficial plant for sand stabilizer. The plump, roundish cherries, which are substantially larger than those produced by black cherry, choke cherry or pin cherry, are mature when they turn a deep blackish purple. The fruits are edible and a favorite wildlife food, sweet but somewhat astringent tasting, and usually much more suitable for making jellies and jams than eating directly from the bush.

 

Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) 50′ tall/spread. A large, fast growing, graceful tree with neat, glossy foliage. The trees are covered with clusters of small white flowers in May. The small black cherries, which ripen in late summer, have a rich, wine-like flavor. They can also be used to make a dark, rich jelly which is considered by some to be the finest of jellies. As the fruits are also very attractive to birds, wild black cherry is useful for distracting birds from other crops. Also an important timber tree, wild black cherry is the main species used for cherry furniture and veneer.

Chokecherry

Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana)

Size: 20-30′ tall/ 20-25′ spread

Flowering: mid-may

Fruiting: Late August

Birds: fall migrants, especially robin, catbird, sparrows, thrasher, thrushes, warblers

This native Chokecherry is usually found in landscapes in the form of one of its cultivars. It is a cold hardy tree with clusters of white flowers in the spring. The fruit are red at first, but turn black with maturity, and are desired by 70 different species of American birds. Foliage of the ‘Schubert’ (‘Canada Red’) cultivar can be striking as it emerges green but turns purple with age. The fall color is orange and red.

Be cautious of the ‘Melanocarpa’ – variety. Though considered a dwarf form, some companies list this as a zone 5 plant.