Midwestern Native Shrubs and Trees. Charlotte Adelman

      Flowering almond (Prunus glandulosa)

CHERRY, PLUM, ALMOND. Family: Rose (Rosaceae). Genus: Prunus. Problem Note: Compared to other ornamentals, Prunus species live short lives (15–20 years). Only members of the genus Prunus, including cherries, plums, almonds, apricots, and peaches, are afflicted by the fungus called black knot; it occurs on Japanese, European, and American species. Applications of costly fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, pesticides, and insecticides containing permethin aimed at the numerous insect pests, root rot, and the bacterial and fungal diseases that plague the ornamental species pose dangers to adults and children, as well as to butterflies, bees, and birds. The early blooms are susceptible to frost damage. Cultivation: Sun, regular pruning, watering, fertilizing, lack of crowding. Moist, well-drained acid to near neutral soils. Cultivar Note: Suckers from roots of purple-leaved grafted cultivars will be green, not purple; FLOWERING ALMOND, CHINESE PLUM (P. glandulosa). Origin: China, Japan. Height/Spread: 4–5 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Pink/white flowers in April, no fall color, unkempt appearance. “It has a suckering tendency and will sneak around the garden and the neighborhood, appearing in places it was never planted,” writes Michael A. Dirr.¹¹ The life span of P. glandulosa ‘Sinensis’, the dwarf flowering almond cultivar, is less than 10 years. Ecological Threat: Naturalized in midwestern states and Canada. Zones: 4–8; FLOWERING PLUM, FLOWERING ALMOND (Amygdalus triloba, syn. P. triloba). Height/Spread: 10–15 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Multistemmed shrub/tree, pink flowers. Ecological Threat: Naturalized in midwestern states. Zones: 3–7; NANKING CHERRY, DOWNY CHERRY (Cerasus tomentosa, syn. P. tomentosa). Origin: China, Tibet. Height/Spread: 6–10 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Inconspicuous white/light pink flowers in April. Ecological Threat: Naturalized in midwestern states and Canada. Zones: 2–7; PURPLELEAF CHERRY, PURPLE-LEAF SANDCHERRY (Prunus × cistena). Hybrid of P. pumila and P. cerasifera ‘Atropurpurea’. Origin: Asia and North America. Height/Spread: 8 feet. Ornamental Attributes: Pink flowers in mid- to late spring, sap-oozing stems, red-purple summer leaves. When top grafted on root stock with green leaves to form a small accent tree, suckers will produce green leaves. Life Span: 10–15 years; can die one branch at a time. Zones: 4–8.

      Also see Spring Trees for CHERRY, PLUM, p. 81.

       Native Alternatives:

      SAND CHERRY, GREAT LAKES SANDCHERRY. Family: Rose (Rosaceae). Genus: Prunus (P. pumila var. pumila). Height/Spread: 3 feet. Note: Threatened in Arkansas, presumed extirpated in Ohio; CREEPING SAND CHERRY, EASTERN SAND CHERRY (P. pumila var. depressa). Height: 3–8 inches. Ornamental Attributes: Red-throated white flowers from April to June, large black cherries on bright red pedicels, deep red fall leaves. “It is almost a harbinger of spring . . . it is a beautiful sight to see when in flower described as having ‘clouds of flowers.’ Unfortunately, most nurseries sell only exotic varieties of Prunus, though none are more hardy or more beautiful than our natives,” note Weeks, Weeks, and Parker.¹² Both make excellent groundcovers. Cultivation: Full sun, shade intolerant. Moist to dry, well-drained soil. Grow largest in moist, fertile soil.

      Sand cherry (Prunus pumila var. pumila)

      Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus)

      Coral hairstreak butterfly (Satyrium titus)

      Cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia)

      Columbia silkmoth (Hyalophora columbia)

      Red-spotted purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis)

      Striped hairstreak butterfly (Satyrium liparops)

Prunus Nature Note: Native cherries and plums host 456 Lepidoptera species, a number surpassed only by our native oaks. These butterflies and moths include spring azure (p. 95), Henry’s elfin (p. 93), viceroy (p. 54), eastern tiger swallowtail, coral hairstreak, striped hairstreak, red-spotted purple, promethea moth, cecropia moth, Columbia silkmoth and other giant silk moths, white-lined sphinx moth (p. 108), hummingbird clearwing moth (p. 72), banded tussock moth, and band-edged prominent moth. Birds eat the nutritious caterpillars and feed them to their nestlings. Ants, attracted to cherries’ extrafloral nectaries (small glands on the stalks), protect the leaves from some leaf-chewing insects. Ruby-throated hummingbirds (p. 91), bumblebees (p. 61), honeybees, bee-mimicking flies, flower beetles, various small pollinating insects, and skipper and other adult butterflies visit for the early pollen

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