February 24, 2022: Plant of the Week- Oemleria cerasiformis (Indian Plum)
The Oemleria cerasiformis (Indian Plum) is a deciduous shrub that can grow from 15-20 feet tall. They are found in forests to prairies, and grow best in moist to well drained soil in full sun or full shade. You can recognize this plant by its pointed, oval, green leaves with purplish brown bark. The flowers are weeping bunches of small white flowers that appear in February and can bloom through April! The fruits are small, orange, pink, red or purplish blue edible plums with large pits. This shrub is great it have in your garden as it blooms early so it provides food for early pollinators and hummingbirds!
For more information please check out the Burke Herbarium link below: