Springs First Bloom

Yesterday was the first day of Spring.  In honor of the changing seasons let us look at one of the earliest blooming native plants, Indian Plum (Oemleria cerasiformis).

This native shrub is one of the very first species to bloom toward the end of Winter / beginning of Spring.  It is present in great number at the restoration site and is one of the few natives that was growing there pre-restoration.  

Indian Plum is can grow between 1.5-5 meters tall and grows in bunches of purple brown stems. This deciduous shrub has alternate green broadly lanced leaves, which when crushed tend to smell a little like cucumber.  

In the Spring Indian Plum blooms with small cascading bunches of small light green/ white flowers that can be between 5-10 cm long.  The flowers have 5 petals and 15 stamens. These flowers are great Spring food for native insects and local hummingbirds. Indian Plum is a dioecious plant, having both male and female plants.  In the summer the female plants will develop small bluish-black “plums” that are bitter and have large pits.

(http://www.vannattabros.com/plant41.html)

Indian Plum is an excellent native plant to add to any garden.  It is versatile and hardy, growing in both dry and moist soils.  It can grow in open and shady areas.  It is often seen growing on road sides and undisturbed urban areas.  It is also easily propagated.  Live staking, using a cutting from a mature planted and planting it in the ground during winter hibernation, is easily accomplished.  If you already have a stand of Indian Plum you can even bend down mature branches into an adjacent dug hole and then cover it up with some dirt make sure the branch stays anchored in that position.  This in most case will beginning rooting and form a new plant.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful native shrub has you take walks around the restoration area!

For further more in depth informations check out http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_oece.pdf.