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Oklahoma Gardening

Sand plum or Chickasaw plum

17 years ago

I'd really like to have one or two of these native shrubs in my yard and have plenty of room on my acre. I'm tempted to stop by the side of the road and dig up a couple since that's where I so often see them. Does anyone know if there are laws against that? They have not been planted, just grow wild, so I don't see why there would be any objections. Any ideas where else I might find them? I haven't been able to locate any at native plant websites or nurseries. Thanks for the help!

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Comments (2)

Okiedawn OK Zone 7
17 years ago
I'm fairly certain it is against the law to dig up any plant on property which is not your own. However, would you be prosecuted? Maybe, Maybe not.

If I saw someone digging up a tree on our acreage, I know I would not be happy about it. But, you know, if they asked permission ahead of time, I'd probably be OK with it, as long as the tree they wanted was a common one, and not a one-of-a-kind type.

One thing to consider, though, is that the chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia) is a suckering plant. You may plant only one, but over time that plant will send up suckers and form a good-sized thicket. Eventually you'll have a very large thicket. If you don't want a thicket, you will have to work hard to prevent that thicket from forming.

Finally, I think that the Oklahoma State Forestry department offers tree seedlings at reasonable prices for wildlife and conservation plantings. You might try contacting them. Every year I see their ads/order forms in our local newspaper. I think they offer several of the wild/native plums. It might be too late for this year, though.
okiegardener
Original Author
17 years ago
I was thinking of the land near the road - the road right of way, which is where I see many of them. I would NOT go onto someone's private property without permission! Didn't mean to give that impression! Thanks for the idea about the forestry department. I'll give them a call. As for the suckering, I'd like to have a thicket! Less grass to mow!
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Hi -- I know some of the answers to your questions. American plum self-fertile -- seems to be. I had 2 and then cut down one after it got old and started to go - the other still seems to bear well. There are other plums around the yard, plus various wild Prunus species in the neighborhood, plus various oranmental plum and sandcherries in the neighborhood as well. 2) 5 x 5 foot size. Yeah, I don't see a real problem with it. My 2 American plum seedlings grew naturally to about 7 to 8 feet max, with probably a 6 to 8 foot spread. So, with a little pruning, probably not too much of a problem. 3) Partial shade -- definitely. My surviving one is in about 2/3rds shade now, as the trees around it have gotten larger, and it seems perfectly happy as an understory type tree. It still gets pretty good light because the two trees near it are a Kentucky Coffe and a Sycamore, and both don't start to branch until very high off the ground. 4) Taste -- Well, the fruits of my plum are quite tasty when fully ripe and slightly soft. They have a bit of astringency when not fully ripe. They make wonderful plum sauce, jelly, baked tarts, etc. I've never had the Chickasaw plum, so can't comment. I did plant a beach plum last year, but it's still only a foot tall.
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Why don't you just drive along a country road and dig up a few of the smaller plum trees? I'm sure nobody would mind if you took some growing along the road side. There are always tons of small trees coming up under the bigger trees. We had two thickets of sand plums at my old house. The larger thicket we had bulldozed down a few years ago, and the smaller thicket encroaches on my land from the adjoining property. I have dug up sooo many of those little trees and given them away and swapped them in the past. They generally transplant easily and in just a few years, you'll have fruit of your own. I would offer you some of mine but I have since moved and don't go back to my other land very often. I was just there yesterday and it will probably be a month or two before I go back. If I wanted some sand plums though, I'd just drive down some country roads until I found a thicket, and dig me up some baby trees. The roadsides are covered around here with blooming trees, so they are easy to spot at this time of year. Good luck finding some. Sand plum jelly IS the best! Oh, and Randy, I agree with the sandy soil/bad soil theory. My land is in the foothills of the Arbuckle Mountains, and is very rocky and very sandy. The sand plums thrive there.
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