Prunus virginiana
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Tree
• Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade.
• Soils: Dry-Moist. Prefers richer loams but is highly adaptable.
• Bloom Time: May-June. Fruits in late summer.
• Size: up to 30ft. Varies depending on light and soil conditions.
A large shrub or small deciduous tree with impressive adaptation to a wide variety of growing conditions. Can grow as a forest tree in moist shade or as a shrub on dry bluffs. Profuse cream- white flowers in late spring. Fruits are puckery sour but addictive and make a good July snack. Very attractive plant to birds and butterflies.
Garden Companions
Scrub Oak (Quercus ilicifolia); White Oak (Quercus alba); Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida); Sassafrass (Sassafras albidum); New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
Nature Benefits
• Provides nectar for native bees and butterflies.
• Important food source for birds and mammals.
• Larval host to a huge variety of moths and butterflies such as hairstreaks and sphinx moths.
Natural Habitat
Moist woods, stream banks; prairie hillsides, fence rows, roadsides; sandy bluffs