Wild Plum SEEDS

There are over one dozen species of plum that are native to this continent. Each one is unique but across the board all of these species are very hardy (to the climate they evolved in) and also very important to wildlife. Plums are eaten by most animals, the leaves are food for many different arthropods (basically bugs), and their structure provides crucial habitat. Many of these plum species are short and shrubby with an ability to spread via suckers.

A general trend you will find as you forage for different wild plums is that some trees make better fruit than others even within a given species. Fruit size, color, taste, skin thickness, etc can vary widely. Each seedling holds potential for a new plum eating experience. When grown from seed the resulting population of plums has a high degree of adaptability to various stressors in the environment compared to clonal propagation such as grafting and transplanting suckers. 

Plums are easy to grow from seed however there is a tendency for the seed to enter what is called double dormancy. If this happens the seed may decide to not germinate in spring but instead wait an additional year after planting. In natural ecosystems and in intentional human propagation the plums seem to operate both ways. Sometimes germinating in their first spring and sometimes their second. Other stone fruit also express this characteristic. In our limited experience we have had the best success avoiding double dormancy by planting the seeds in summer (into nursery beds) as soon as they come out of the fruit. 

Most stone fruit seem to benefit from a warm stratification followed by a cold stratification which makes sense given that the fruit tend to ripen in summer. In any natural system the seed would sit in rotting fruit or manure for the later part of summer and then remain dormant through the winter. All of our seed handling practices aim to mimic this process as best we can. When we process wild plum fruit we place the seeds into buckets of woodchips outdoors. These buckets have holes to allow for water to drain and hardware cloth on top to keep rodents out. Prior to shipping the seeds in fall we like to dry the seeds down a bit and store them in bags in the fridge. We recommend fall planting or artificially cold stratifying these seeds when they arrive to you.  

2025 Selections: 

Chickasaw plum seed - Raleigh Ecotype 

For 2025 we have seeds from several patches of Chickasaw plum growing at Project Pando in Raleigh. Each patch ripens at a different time, most patches make red fruit although there is one that makes yellow fruit. Our seed is a mix of mostly the red types. 

Chickasaw plum is a southeastern species of wild plum that thrives in the hot and humid south. Unlike domestic plums which suffer many pest issues in the south, Chickasaw plums are relatively bulletproof in terms of pests. Native peoples across the southeast cultivated wild plums prior to the arrival of Europeans. The Chickasaw plum we know today is a result of that relationship. Like many other wild plums Chickasaw plums are fire adapted and will resprout with vigor after a fire. Coppicing or animal browse can mimic fire to some extent.

They do best with full sun and will thrive in a prairie environment. At most they will reach 15 feet tall although 10-12 feet is more common. Once established they will quickly spread via suckers forming a dense patch. They are very drought tolerant once established and like to have well drained soil. They can absolutely grow in clay but it helps to mound up the planting hole at establishment to increase drainage. 

Chickasaw patches make incredible habitat for all sorts of wildlife. The plums are relatively small compared to domestic plums and typically come in the colors of red and yellow. They are good for fresh eating and for making jams. All of our seed this year (2025) came from several patches growing at Pandoland outside of Raleigh NC. Check out Project Pando at this link (below) to learn more about this site! We have made several video tours of the many conservation projects at Pandoland. These videos can be found on our youtube. There is a lot of cool stuff going on at Pando Land! 

https://www.leaflimb.com/project-pando/

Germination tips

Our seed was warm stratified outdoors for most of summer. It was a very wet summer so we have dried them down a bit for shipping. Upon receiving your seeds we recommend fall planting or artificial cold stratification. If fall planting we recommend mulching 2-4 inches of woodchips over top of sown seeds. If artificially cold stratifying we recommend adding a small amount of moisture to the bags before placing into the fridge. Emphasis on small! Reach out with any specific germination questions! 

PROTECT YOUR SEEDS FROM RODENTS! Many small mammals will smell these seeds and do anything to raid your supply.  

Watch out for seeds that may wait to germinate until spring of 2027. In our nursery we generally reuse soil for several years. We like to plant plum seeds in the same beds year after year so that any remaining dormant seed from the previous year has a chance to come up.