Private Land
| Common Name | Scientific Name | Distinguishing Traits |
| American plum | Prunus americana | short-med. height tree, slick wide leave ... |
| Sand plum | Prunus angustifolia | shrub-short tree, long and slender slick ... |
| Oklahoma plum | Prunus gracilis | shrub-short tree, fuzzy leaves with smal ... |
| Hortulan plum | Prunus hortulana | short-med. tree, Eastern Oklahoma, gloss ... |
What are sand plums?
Sand plums, also known as Chickasaw plum, Cherokee plum, or Sandhill plum (Prunus angustifolia Marshall), are native fruit-producing shrubs or small trees in Oklahoma (Figure 1). Use of sand plums range from cover for native bird species to making jams, jellies, and wine from the fruit.
What can you do with plums?
Or you can cut them up into small slices and soak them in pepper sauce and salt for an easy chow chow dish. You can also make chow chow using peppers, tomatoes, vinegar, salt, and cabbage too, if you want to go all out. Did you know that you can grill plums and use them as a garnish for salads or eat them plain?
How do you prune a sand plum tree?
No specific pruning procedure exists for sand plums, though it is advised to prune in a way that would make the fruit most accessible to you. Overloading the tree with fruit may stress the tree, which may kill it. Suckering on sand plums is a concern with growing the fruit.
Can I plant sand plums with black knot?
Selection of sand plums from a site where Black Knot is present is not advised, due to the possibility of the plant being infected by fungal spores (Figure 3). Figure 3. Black knot fungus on a sand plum.
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Can you eat sand plums?
Current Facts. Wild plums, sometimes called American plum, Sandhill plum, Osage plum, River plum or Sand Cherry, are botanically classified as Prunus Americana. They are seldom favored as a fresh eating plum, especially when compared to most commercial varieties, but rather provide food for wild animals and foragers.
How do you process a sand plum?
1:5910:25How to Make Wild Sand Plum Jam - Picking and Preserving - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipRight we have four quarts of Sam plums cleaned and ready to go we're gonna bring them up to a boilMoreRight we have four quarts of Sam plums cleaned and ready to go we're gonna bring them up to a boil to soften them up then we'll run them through the colander to get the pulp removed.
Will sand plums ripen after picking?
If you're picking plums before they're ripe, you can ripen them, but they have the best flavor if they ripen on trees. If you picked or bought unripe plums, you can ripen them on the countertop. To make your plums ripen indoors more quickly, keep the plums at temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees F.
What do sand plums taste like?
Their taste is tart and bitter close to the skin but sweetest next to the seed. “The redder they are, the sweeter they are to eat,” said Debbie Gerard, whose company makes sandhill plum jelly. Look for them along ridges and ditches.
How do you know when sand plums are ripe?
Touch. A ripe plum is still firm, but not hard. The flesh and skin yield slightly under your fingers when you squeeze it gently. An unripe plum may have turned red, but until it softens, it is not ready to pick.
Can you freeze sand plums?
Freezing plums is as easy as can be, and the fruit wedges will last up to six months in your freezer. Use your frozen plums to make jam or preserves, add them into smoothies, or eat the wedges straight out of the freezer for a cool treat. Here's how you can freeze plums to enjoy all year long.
Can dogs eat sand plums?
The Answer To “Can Dogs Eat Plums?” Is Yes! While plum fruit is technically safe for dogs, the pits and stems are highly toxic and can cause poisoning. Meanwhile, the fruit, while fine as a treat, doesn't provide significant health benefits and is high in sugar.
How do you make sand plum juice for jelly?
For the sandplum juice: Place the well-washed and picked over sandplums into a large pot and add the water. Over medium heat bring to a boil and allow plums to simmer until plums pop and “mush” and you no longer see any whole plums. Strain juice into a bowl through a sieve (lined with a cheesecloth if so desired).
How do you make sandhill plum wine?
Mash the plums with a sterile piece of wood - a baseball bat works well. Pour the boiling sugar and water over the plums to the 1-gallon mark. When cooled, add the tannin, yeast nutrient and Campden tablet. Fit it with an air lock.
Are beach plums good to eat?
Beach plum: A late-summer tart from the dunes Plums from trees growing on sand dunes are edible but are mostly pit, which is covered by a stingy layer of sweet flesh wrapped in a bitter skin; the poignant taste of summer's end.
Where do sand plums grow?
A shrub native to much of Kansas and Oklahoma, it is found growing naturally on sandy prairies where it is very effective in stopping blowing sand (Kansas Forest Service, 2010).
What is sand plum jelly?
A native prairie fruit highly prized since pioneer days for its tart plum taste. Grows only in Tornado Alley, from North Dakota to the West Texas panhandle. Kansas folks' favorite, but we reckon you'll like it too.
How do you make sandhill plum wine?
Mash the plums with a sterile piece of wood - a baseball bat works well. Pour the boiling sugar and water over the plums to the 1-gallon mark. When cooled, add the tannin, yeast nutrient and Campden tablet. Fit it with an air lock.
How do you ripen wild plums?
Place the plums in a clean paper bag.An even quicker method is to put a ripe banana in the bag with the plums. The extra ethylene produced by the banana will cause the plums to ripen fast.Don't place the plums in a plastic bag. ... If you prefer, you can ripen the plums by placing them in a fruit bowl, rather in a bag.
Can dogs eat sand plums?
The Answer To “Can Dogs Eat Plums?” Is Yes! While plum fruit is technically safe for dogs, the pits and stems are highly toxic and can cause poisoning. Meanwhile, the fruit, while fine as a treat, doesn't provide significant health benefits and is high in sugar.
What is sand plum jelly?
A native prairie fruit highly prized since pioneer days for its tart plum taste. Grows only in Tornado Alley, from North Dakota to the West Texas panhandle. Kansas folks' favorite, but we reckon you'll like it too.
1. Spiced Plum Custard Cake
Do you want a cake with a little bit of spice, a little bit of sweetness, and a creamy custard texture? You’ve come to the right place.
2. Brown Sugar Plum Clafoutis
Don’t let the name of this dessert scare you away. It’s a traditional dessert from France, but it’s said to be easy to make.
3. Upside Down Plum Cake
One of my favorite cakes as a kid was an upside-down pineapple cake. My mom made them regularly, and they were delicious.
4. Plum Cobbler
Who doesn’t love a warm cobbler fresh out of the oven? You can throw it together quickly, and it doesn’t require fancy ingredients to make it happen.
5. Asian Plum Sauce
Let’s take a break from desserts for a minute and switch gears to a different meal of the day: dinner. If you enjoy Asian inspired food, you’re probably familiar with plum sauce.
6. Plum Jam Recipe
Nothing is better than sweet homemade jam. It goes deliciously on toast for breakfast, or it can be used in thumbprint cookies for dessert.
7. Easy Plum Chutney
I’m a huge fan of chutney, but I must admit, up until a couple of years ago I hadn’t indulged in it. Once I took the plunge, there was no turning back.
Barter Those Excess Plums
Bartering is a common practice among homesteaders and plums are a great barter currency.
Historical Uses of Plums
As a homesteader, I am always looking back to find out how things were done before grocery stores and refrigerators were the norm. To my surprise, I learned that historically, early fruit growers didn’t eat that much of their fruit.
Modern Classic Uses for Plums
Since about the late 1700s and early 1800s, when processed sugar became a household staple and stovetops were innovated, people also started making lots of fruit preserves. For those of you with a sweet tooth, there are several different preparations of plums you can use on bread.
Plum Treats For the Foodies
Now for all you foodies out there looking for something a little bit more frufru to do with plums, here are some options.
The Pleasure of Plums
Whether you use and preserve plums as early homesteaders and farmers did, opt for modern classics involving canning and granulated sugar, or transform them into gourmet delicacies, the pleasures of plums can extend far beyond the few weeks they are in season.
Plum Chow Chow
If you have un-ripened plums that are not sweet yet, there are a few ways you can use them. You can put them in a glass jar and pickle them to make plum pickles. Or you can cut them up into small slices and soak them in pepper sauce and salt for an easy chow chow dish.
Grilled Plums
Did you know that you can grill plums and use them as a garnish for salads or eat them plain? Lightly grilling plum slices until they are blackened yields a pleasantly crunchy plum that is still sweet and flavourful. Be sure to brush it with some olive oil or other oil before you cook it to keep it from burning
Caramelised Plums
Plums make for a great garnish for your ice cream or salad once they have been caramelised. You just need to slice them into wedges and cook them over low heat with a little honey. This makes them even sweeter and gives you a lovely garnish that’s so good you might want to eat it on its own.
Plum Cake
What to do with fresh plums if you don’t want to eat them whole? You can cut them into small slices and add them to your cake batter. Any cake you make may benefit from a few pieces of plum in there, gently folded into the batter to give it the benefit of fruity flavour.
Plum Sauce
You can make your own plum sauce from underripe plums. Simply puree them in just a little water or some red pepper jelly. This makes for a great glaze that can be used on duck, roasted chicken, or kebabs. Add seasonings and spicy pepper to make your sauce extra special.
Plum Crisp
It’s a little more work than the other ideas here, but plum crisp is a great dessert or breakfast dish. You want to use fully ripened plums for this, and I think they are best suited for making a crisp when they are still firm and have not yet become mushy. This sweet dish is great with some whipped topping as a garnish or served with ice cream.
What to Do with Mushy Plums
When you have plums that are starting to get too soft, they might not taste very appealing. The texture changes and their flavour can change as well. That’s probably not the kind of plum you want to eat raw, but what can you do with it?
Selecting Plants
Seed Propagation
- Seeds from previous year’s crops can be used to start new sand plums, provided that the seeds have not been boiled or frozen (Figure 2). Sand plum seeds require a two month cold period (stratification) to germinate. This is a simple process. To stratify the seeds, mix seeds with a moist soil media (potting soil or peat moss works fine) and place them in a sealed zip lock bag f…
Grafting
- It may be possible to graft sand plums onto peach or plum rootstock. This is only advised if you have had practice grafting, as sand plums are difficult to graft. Success may be limited, and incompatibility may occur later in the life of the tree. For grafting, chip budding is recommended since it does not damage the rootstock as badly as T-budding. Grafting should be done when th…
Nursery
- Commercial nurseries may have sand plums for sale. Varieties of sand plums such as ‘Rainbow’ exist and are commercially available. When purchasing sand plums, make certain you are buying Prunus angustifolia.
Private Land
- Sand plums can also be dug up from the side of the road. Make certain to dig deep enough to get enough of the tap root, and try not to damage the other roots. Please ask the landowner beforehand, since roadsides belong to the landowner and not the county. Another consideration is to be certain that you are digging Chickasaw plum, and not another kind of wild plum. There are …
Pest and Disease Problems
- Sand plum trees can contract similar diseases as peaches and plums. Of these diseases, brown rot and black knot have been noted to have the most obvious effects upon wild populations. Black Knot (Dibotryon morbosum) is a fungal disease. Though it may not be very severe, it has been observed to kill twig by twig. Selection of sand plums from a site where Black Knot is present is …
Cultural Methods
- Sand plums are typically a short lived tree though some exceptions are known. Though sand plums may grow closely together in their native setting, bigger and healthier trees will result if sand plums are well spaced. No official spacing recommendation exists for sand plums, but it is advised to follow the low end of spacing recommendations provided in Oklahoma extension pub…
Acknowledgments
- Special thanks to Leon Cook, Eddy Fenton, Dr. Eric Stafne and Becky Carroll for their contributions to this publication. Pictures by Leon Cook and Beth McMahon. Citations Row, J. M. and W. A. Geyer. 2010. Plant Fact Sheet for Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Manhattan Plant Materials Center, Manhattan, KS 66502. USDA, NRCS. 20…