33 American Plum Tree Facts: Fruits, Season, Growth!

We can conceptualize an entire wild plum tree as a large shrub with scattered branches and thicket forming, this small tree is encapsulated by white flowers with five petals and bright red fruits with a length up to 35 ft (10.7 m), 2-4 in (5.1-10.2 cm) of leaf length. The leaves are toothed and oblong in shape. The fruit was used to make a red dye.

These American plum trees are used to make jellies, and they even have their place in bird diets. In various places, they are accommodated in a way to control erosion by reducing wind velocity at the outskirts of agricultural fields. These plants grow in Dakota, New Mexico, and Georgia.

These prunus plants species belong to woodland edges, stream banks, upland pastures, and the native range is from USA and Canada. American plum or Canada plum trees do not fit into many diets but it offers refuge to butterflies. The American plum tree has a broad crown and irregular ridges.

It is an important ingredient while making preservatives. However, the only caveat is that most parts of this species have toxin hydrocyanic acid. Hog plum also called Spondias mombin is another kind with corky young bark and is a flowering plant.

Dietary Benefits Of American Plum Trees

With juicy interiors, American plums acquire purple pigmented anthocyanins. This plant can have several benefits. Some of them are listed below.

• Being less concentrated with lower caloric and high fiber proportion, American plums are a common remedy for constipation.

• It contains only 30 calories, where 88% is stuffed with carbohydrates and in rest, it has 6% of protein and fat proportions.

•It also has many micronutrients, like, vitamin A, 0.0002 oz (0.006 g) of vitamin C (10% of RDI), and no sodium. Also following the USDA nutritional data, plum also consists of a little proportion of manganese, copper, vitamin K, potassium.

•Per serving has the macronutrients, 0.26 oz (7.5 g) of carbohydrates, 0.23 oz (6.6 g) of sugar, 0.03 oz (0.9 g) of fiber, 0.007 oz (0.2 g) of fat.

• American plum has a lower glycemic index of 2. The Glycemic index basically represents how your blood sugar level is going to react after having certain food.

The Description Of The Fruits Of The American Plum Trees

Despite being nutritious you may not get the American plums all year round. But these days you can still enjoy eating plums imported with a wide variety.

• Naturally Prunus Americana starts thriving in between June and October, although August and September are dominant months of production.

• You can truly enjoy American plum fruit when there are edible and have no nicks and blemishes in it and it is good to consume after cleaning it properly.

• While purchasing these plum fruits, do not want to pick unripe hard plums, always go for the slightly softer ones.

• However, if you got them in a little less developed stage you can cover them with a paper bag at room temperature when they tend to get a little soft and edible. Let them sit in your refrigerator for two to three days and this way will not get overripened.

• You can also keep it in a freezer bag and keep them for 12 months in your refrigerator. However, they are best when they are eaten fresh and ripe.

• If your taste buds allow and you want to try something new then you can make the plum sauce.

• After buying the plums or eating them, try not to have them just off the rack, as sometimes on the outsides there can be some powder-like substance, called bloom. It is better to wash them.

• You can just have the plum fruit raw or make pies, tarts, cobblers, poached, grilled, baked plums. They mostly seem to be used for preserves, jams, sauces. Plum can be used to preserve food.

• If you are craving and want to spice up your food or salad, adding some American plum chunks or making spicy salsa out of it can be a great add-on.

• You can find some different kinds of Prunus species, like Victoria, Marjorie's seedling, Cambridge gage, golden sphere, and Farleigh Damson.

• Prunus domestica Marjorie's seedlings, are immune to diseases and start becoming prolific by September and October. This plum can be bred with other plum varieties too.

• Prunus domestica Cambridge gage, are the green ones which are the yellow inside and is used for making jam. They are bear fruits in mid-August.

• Prunus insititia Farleigh Damson, also known as Farleigh prolific, are best when they get cross-pollinated.

• Prunus domestica Victoria, being self-fertile bear egg-shaped fruits. They are transplanted upon a semi-dwarfing root system.

• Prunus cerasifera golden sphere, they are formally known as Mirabelle cherry plum and you can have the fruits by late July.

Environmental Factors Of American Plum Trees

If you are wildlife enthusiasts, commercial orchardists, or casual homesteaders, having this Prunus Americana plants species in your possession can be of great value.

• Being adaptable they tend to survive upon almost every kind of well-drained soil. They grow 3ft (0.9 m) every season.

• But various kinds of pests or diseases are seen to colonize around these plants. But American plums are resilient. Some of them are eaten away by herbivores and omnivores such as black bears, white-tailed deers, and raccoons.

The Spring Azure butterflies help in pollination for the plum trees.

• After propagation for six months, arranging these plants in stable layers with moist well-drained soils facilitates the process of breaking seed dormancy by spring.

•Eastern tent caterpillar can be a real deal, the cure is using Malathion 57 EC liquid, without facing defoliation. You can encounter a plum moth, plum sawfly, here you can use pheromone traps.

• Weed control is a prime factor in the conservation of these plants. Before you start using herbicides to suppress vegetation and start matting weed barriers, always try to avoid no recommended chemicals.

• The species requires balanced medium hydration in moist circumstances in part shade with well-drained soil conditions and you can them sit in partial shade. They also need six-eight hours of sunlight. It means they need full sun to grow.

• It can survive on moist sand with a pH value of almost 6.5 and it is being tolerant to high CaCO3.

• Never think about pruning these fruit trees during winter, as it has a higher probability to acquire silver leaf disease. Start getting rid of those dead and damaged portions by spring fall to summer.

Medical Usage Of American Plum Trees

American plum has significant potential health benefits.

• Vitamin C has water solubility traits. In the human body, plums help to resurrect any damaged cell, enhance immunity, and lessen the pace of aging.

• Plum fruit has phytonutrients, such as phenols which are apparently an antioxidant. It helps to sustain the cells which are more likely to enter apoptosis or any other biological alterations.

•The phenols obviates the factors of cardiovascular diseases, aging, cancer, and neurodegeneration.

• With soluble fiber the plum fruit plays an important role in maintaining heart health, mitigating low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. It alleviates bone health parameters, cognitive functions, and cardiovascular threats.

• Plums have anthocyanins which balance high blood pressure and cure hypertension. Some cardiovascular improvements were identified with the 2017 medical overview.

• Being low glycemic plums are responsible for soothing type two diabetes.

• Being high phenolic plums can help in the post-menopausal period, with fractures and weakened bones can be avoided with daily consumption of plums for women.