The Chickasaw Plum is a valuable and worthwhile member of the arboretum collection. Somewhat weedy, productive of excellent fruit, handsome, and sometimes fragile, its cultivation is rewarding, if unreliable. Over the years we have lost numerous plants and transplants to disease and general weakness. Today we have good news: a chickasaw plum patch has been increasing in size.
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A line of healthy, new shoots can be found along the concrete drain near the Fitness Center.
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Are these suckers or seedlings? These shoots have grown up to a foot in a single year. That implies they are coming out of an established root network, rather than being new germinations from seed.
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The leaves have a waxy appearance, and a mix of red and green coloration appropriate to the Christmas season.
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Hopefully the metal rods and pink tape will protect these shoots from mowers, weedeaters, and other hazards. It's tough out there for a plant.
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Next summer we will thin the patch and keep only the best specimens. This will reduce the overall resource demands on the plant or plants, allowing it to focus its energies and giving it a bit of protection from drought. We also want to prevent the weedy habit of this plum from fully exerting itself and creating a thicket.
Our previous post, showing the springtime blossoms of the Chickasaw Plum, can be found here.
