Plum Thicket

bjohnson · Oct 2, 2022

Thinking about habitat projects for early next year and I keep thinking about planting some plums, I'll do both American and Chickasaw on opposite ends of a 30 acre row crop field. The idea is to create a border around the fields to benefit our quail while also benefitting deer. I've got a few questions and was just wondering if anyone has any plum thickets on their property?

TNlandowner · Oct 2, 2022

I planted 50 native American plum trees a few years ago. I ordered my seedlings from Missouri Forestry nursery as our TN nurseries were out of trees.

These trees mature quickly and spread by the roots. I have to mow them to keep them from moving into my food plots. Deer, turkey, opossums, raccoons, coyotes, birds, and my boy love the bitter red fruit. Be care around them as they have sharp thorns.

What are your questions?

bjohnson · Oct 2, 2022

TNlandowner said:
I planted 50 native American plum trees a few years ago. I ordered my seedlings from Missouri Forestry nursery as our TN nurseries were out of trees.

These trees mature quickly and spread by the roots. I have to mow them to keep them from moving into my food plots. Deer, turkey, opossums, raccoons, coyotes, birds, and my boy love the bitter red fruit. Be care around them as they have sharp thorns.

What are your questions?

How many out of the 50 planted survived? Also, do they do better on a ridge tip or down near the bottom of a hollow? You said they mature and spread quickly, how quick?

I'm also going to plant around 5 or so Mexican plums. They do not sucker out but actually form a tree. I'm just trying to increase the food sources on our property and after reading the benefits of plum thickets I'm really wanting to get some of both American and Chickasaw plums going.

Boll Weevil · Oct 2, 2022

i have'em. The critters spread them too via transported plum pits. Like persimmons seeds.

Ski · Oct 2, 2022

I've not considered plums for deer before. I must be plum crazy

Sounds like a great idea and I've got a perfect spot to create a thicket of them.

TNlandowner · Oct 3, 2022

bjohnson said:
How many out of the 50 planted survived? Also, do they do better on a ridge tip or down near the bottom of a hollow? You said they mature and spread quickly, how quick?

I'm also going to plant around 5 or so Mexican plums. They do not sucker out but actually form a tree. I'm just trying to increase the food sources on our property and after reading the benefits of plum thickets I'm really wanting to get some of both American and Chickasaw plums going.

We lost 50% of the trees due to deer browsing the leaves on the young seedlings. Just like other tree plantings, our local deer seem to love any tree I plant over naturally growing trees ;o(

I planted 1 stand along the edge of a draw / drainage area. This one grew well and produced fruit in four years.
I planted 2 stands in fields along ridges. These really struggled to grow as deer hammered them. I put welded wire around them and they finally grew above the deer browse height. These trees took seven years to begin producing plums. I blame myself for not protecting the seedlings for the production delay. I think location didn't have that great of an impact as both areas have similar soils and sunlight.

Plums and persimmons are good ways to increase soft mass for deer. I also planted pears and apples, which require annual work. After ten years of improvements, I now prefer spreading persimmon trees which are super easy to establish. They drop fruit late October - December. The plum trees produce more fruit from late August through September. I also have to deal with the constant spread from the roots. If you are looking to create food and cover in an area that you don't need to enter, the plums may be a good choice.

For what its worth, I also planted a lot of sawtooth oak trees. These trees matured in 6 - 8 years and drop a lot of acorns in September - October. My white and red oaks begin dropping acorns right as the deer, turkey, and squirrels finish the sawtooth acorns.

Good luck in your project. Keep a journal and take photos. You'll enjoy seeing the wildlife benefit in years to come.