American Plum (Prunus americana)
American Plum is remarkable for its value to wildlife. As a Keystone Plant, it is the host for the Red-Spotted Purple, Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org)! It produces a profusion of aromatic flowers in the spring that are very popular with early pollinators and attract many different kinds of native bees and it is the host plant for the specialist bee Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023). The fruits are eaten by mammals which helps to spread the large seeds to new locations (illinoiswildflower.info). If American Plum likes where it is located, it can spread by suckers to form thickets.
Photo Credit: Matt Levin (1-2), John Blair (3-5)
American Plum is remarkable for its value to wildlife. As a Keystone Plant, it is the host for the Red-Spotted Purple, Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org)! It produces a profusion of aromatic flowers in the spring that are very popular with early pollinators and attract many different kinds of native bees and it is the host plant for the specialist bee Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023). The fruits are eaten by mammals which helps to spread the large seeds to new locations (illinoiswildflower.info). If American Plum likes where it is located, it can spread by suckers to form thickets.
Photo Credit: Matt Levin (1-2), John Blair (3-5)
American Plum is remarkable for its value to wildlife. As a Keystone Plant, it is the host for the Red-Spotted Purple, Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths in our area (nwf.org)! It produces a profusion of aromatic flowers in the spring that are very popular with early pollinators and attract many different kinds of native bees and it is the host plant for the specialist bee Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023). The fruits are eaten by mammals which helps to spread the large seeds to new locations (illinoiswildflower.info). If American Plum likes where it is located, it can spread by suckers to form thickets.
Photo Credit: Matt Levin (1-2), John Blair (3-5)
Life Cycle: Perennial
Sun Exposure: Full, Partial
Soil Moisture: Medium-Wet, Medium, Medium-Dry
Height: Up to 20 ft, depends on sun and moisture
Plant Spacing: 5-15 feet
Bloom Time: April-May
Bloom Color: White
Advantages: Caterpillar Favorite, Pollinator Favorite, Bird Favorite
Host Plant: Hummingbird Clearwing, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Red Spotted Purple, and 416 other species of butterflies and moths use this as a caterpillar host plant in our area (nwf.org)
Specialist Bee: Andrena fenningeri (Johnson and Colla, 2023)
Resource: Johnson, Lorraine, and Sheila Colla. A Northern Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators: Creating Habitat in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest. Island Press, 2023
