Canada Plum vs White Meadowsweet - TreeTime.ca

Canada Plum vs White Meadowsweet

Prunus nigra

Spiraea alba

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Canada Plum
White Meadowsweet

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.

White Meadowsweet is a woody, deciduous shrub that begins to bloom in early summer with small white and pink flowers. Its foliage turns from a light green into an attractive golden-yellow later in the fall.

The White Meadowsweet, also known as Mead-Wort or Bride-Wort, is favored by birds and butterflies but is largely ignored by deer. They produce small brown berries in the summer, and while they are technically edible, they are not sweet and are more desired by wildlife.

Canada Plum Quick Facts

White Meadowsweet Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 3a
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Spread: 4 m (12 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal, wet
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: medium
Life span: short
Suckering: high
Suckering: high


Fall colour: attractive yellow, gold
Fall colour: golden yellow
Bark: grey and scaly with age
Flowers: white
Flowers: white, small
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: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: american plum, black plum, canada plum, horse plum, wild plum
Other Names: mead wort, meadowsweet, narrowleaf meadowsweet, pale bridewort, pipestem