Tree
Mexican Plum
Prunus mexicana
Also called: Bigtree Plum
A single-trunked native plum that clouds itself in fragrant white blossom in late winter — one of the earliest nectar sources of the year — then sets small plums the wildlife take.
Growing & care
Adaptable to most soils with decent drainage. Little care once established. The early bloom feeds bees weeks before most plants wake up.
Bloom season
In bloom: Feb–Mar · Colors: white
Where to buy
Look for mexican plum (Prunus mexicana) at: native Texas nurseries.
Sources
Range, nomenclature, and the USDA symbol above come from the federal plant record for this species. Check it yourself:
Good for
Plant it with
Natives that pair with mexican plum
Same conditions, same uses — species that share mexican plum's growing requirements and belong in the same bed.
Pink Evening Primrose
Oenothera speciosa
The pink cups that wash over Texas fields and roadsides in spring.
Possumhaw Holly
Ilex decidua
Drops its leaves in fall to reveal branches packed with scarlet berries that glow through winter and feed cedar waxwings and robins in late season..
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
Grown for its show-stopping clusters of electric-purple berries in fall — a feast for mockingbirds and dozens of other birds — on a graceful arching shrub..
Black-eyed Susan
Rudbeckia hirta
The classic golden prairie daisy — cheerful, tough, and endlessly reseeding.
Coralberry
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
A modest suckering shrub for shade that comes into its own in fall, when the arching branches string themselves with clusters of coral-pink berries the birds strip by spring..
Flameleaf Sumac
Rhus lanceolata
A small native tree grown for the best red-orange fall color in central Texas, plus summer flower panicles for bees and red berry clusters that feed birds into winter..