Arrowwood vs American Plum

Arrowwood is a cold hardy, reliable, and vigorous shrub that can easily grow on difficult sites. Featuring an upright, rounded, and multi-stemmed form, this shrub produces creamy white flowers against a backdrop of deep green, serrated foliage.

The flowers give way to dark, blue berries that will attract wildlife to your yard. Depending on the plant, Arrowwood's striking fall color can range from yellow, red to reddish-purple.

Many use Arrowwood for naturalization or mass planting projects but, more commonly, you'll see this simple yet elegant shrub as a shrub border or planted on its own.

American Plum is a cold-hardy wild plum native to North America that grows as a small tree or large multi-stemmed shrub. Small, firm, red plums ripen from mid to late summer; the skin is tough and tart, whereas the flesh is sweet and juicy. While some enjoy eating them 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.

In spring, American Plum produces abundant white to pink flowers that attract a variety of pollinators, providing an important early-season source of nectar and pollen. It also serves as a host plant for numerous moth and butterfly species. In its native range, it is recognized as an important keystone plant, as it has a disproportionately large impact on local ecosystems.

American Plum tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, from acidic to alkaline, and heavy clay. It is well suited to a variety of projects, including fruit orchards for cross-pollination, as well as pollinator plantings, naturalization, and restoration projects.

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