White Meadowsweet vs Opata Cherry Plum - TreeTime.ca

White Meadowsweet vs Opata Cherry Plum

Spiraea alba

Prunus besseyi x salicina Opata

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

White Meadowsweet
Opata Cherry Plum

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.

Opata Cherry Plum is considered to be one of the best tasting Cherry Plum varieties. It has a pleasant, sweet flavour and a hint of acidity. They ripen in mid to late August and are well suited to fresh eating, baking, and preserves.

The fruit is closer to a plum than a cherry but is smaller than most plums.The Opata Cherry Plum’s skin is red/green whereas the flesh is yellow-green. The flesh is freestone with a juicy, firm texture. Similar to other stone fruits, it does not store for very long.

The Opata Cherry Plum is a hybrid between a Western Sand Cherry and a Japanese (Chinese) Plum. For fruit production, it needs to be planted with another variety for cross-pollination. Canada Plum and American Plum are considered universal pollinizers.

White Meadowsweet Quick Facts

Opata Cherry Plum Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 2a
Height: 1.2 m (4 ft)
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Spread: 0.9 m (3 ft)
Spread: 2.1 m (7 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: full sun
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: high
Suckering: medium
Maintenance: medium


Fall colour: golden yellow
Flowers: white, small
Fruit: skin green and red, flesh yellow-green
Fruit size: 3 cm in diameter
Flavor: pleasant and sweet, hint of acidity
Harvest: mid to late August
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NS, NB, NL, PE
Other Names: mead wort, meadowsweet, narrowleaf meadowsweet, pale bridewort, pipestem
Other Names: opata chum, opata plum cherry