Canada Plum vs Northern Bush Honeysuckle - TreeTime.ca

Canada Plum vs Northern Bush Honeysuckle

Prunus nigra

Diervilla lonicera

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Canada Plum
Northern Bush Honeysuckle

Canada Plum is a cold-hardy wild plum native to North America with small red fruit. They ripen in mid to late summer, with bitter, astringent skin surrounding sweet, slightly acidic flesh that clings to the stone. While some enjoy eating the plums fresh, they are more commonly used for baking and preserves. It is considered a universal pollinizer for other plum varieties and is often used for grafting or as a rootstock.

White to pink flowers appear in spring, often before the leaves, providing an early source of nectar and pollen for native bees and other pollinators. Birds and other wildlife also feed on the fruit, adding to its ecological value. Canada Plum can grow as a small tree or large, multi-stemmed shrub. It is well suited to a variety of projects, including fruit orchards for cross-pollination, as well as pollinator plantings, naturalization, and restoration projects.

The Northern Bush Honeysuckle is a small, dense, deciduous shrub. The trumpet-like yellow flowers bloom late spring to early summer. Dark green leaves turn yellow then red in the fall. The flower nectar has a sweet honey taste that can be sucked out of the flower.

Because of its aggressive suckering habit, the Northern Bush Honeysuckle makes a great hedge, shrub border, or thicket in a woodland garden.

Canada Plum Quick Facts

Northern Bush Honeysuckle Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 3a
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Height: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: shade, partial shade
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: very fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: high
Suckering: high


Fall colour: attractive yellow, gold
Bark: grey and scaly with age
Flowers: white
Flowers: yellow to red
Fruit: under 1 inch round yellow fruits with red blush to completely red, tart skin with sweet flesh
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: MB, ON, QC, NB
Native to: SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: american plum, black plum, canada plum, horse plum, wild plum
Other Names: low bush honeysuckle