Brush - Range & Pasture - Sand Plum

BES-TEX BRUSH ID GUIDE

Sand Plum

Chickasaw Plum, Sandhill Plum

Prunus angustifolia

Perennial Woody Brush

Plant Type

Thicket-forming shrub; rose family (Rosaceae)

Life Cycle

Perennial; native

Leaf Habit

Deciduous (Texas A&M, Prunus spp.)

Typical Height

2 to 25 ft depending on soil and water (OSU)

Photo Gallery

Sand plum shrub covered in small white flowers in early spring — **White Flowers** Photo: Eric Hunt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How to Identify It

Quick ID

Growth

Forms large thickets (OSU)

Leaves

Shiny, light green, alternate, toothed; sometimes curved and partly folded (OSU)

Twigs & Thorns

Shiny, zigzag, reddish twigs; larger stems have stout thorns (OSU)

Flowers & Fruit

Showy white flowers in spring just before leaves emerge
Yellowish to reddish fruit in early summer (OSU)

Look-Alikes

Other wild plums and cherries

How to tell them apart from sand plum: [PLACEHOLDER]

Counter script: "If it is a thicket of shrubs with shiny reddish zigzag twigs, toothed folded leaves, and white spring flowers before the leaves, it is most likely sand plum."

Where It Grows

Texas

Prunus species grow in every vegetational area of Texas (Texas A&M)
Sand plum detail: [PLACEHOLDER]

Oklahoma

Throughout the state except Cimarron County and the far Panhandle (OSU)

New Mexico

Range reaches New Mexico (OSU); local detail [PLACEHOLDER]

Sites and soils: Sandy soils; sandhills along rivers (OSU). Wild Prunus leaves can poison livestock when damaged; keep animals away during clearing (Texas A&M).

Best Time to Control

Best treatment timing for sand plum: [PLACEHOLDER]. Follow the product label.

Sand plum is a woody perennial. No pre-emergent herbicide controls sand plum.

Treatment Methods

Foliar (Leaf) Spray

Surmount (Corteva) lists wild plum (Surmount label)
Mix: follow the label

Basal Bark and Cut Stump

PastureGard HL (Corteva) lists Prunus spp. (PastureGard HL label)
PastureGard HL (label): 25% in oil

Individual Plant vs. Broadcast

Density guidance for this plant: [PLACEHOLDER]
Follow the label for broadcast use

Product names are examples only. Always read and follow the product label. For product selection and help, contact BES-TEX at 325.653.1300.

Sources: Surmount label, EPA Reg. No. 62719-480 (wild plum); PastureGard HL label, EPA Reg. No. 62719-637 (Prunus spp.); Oklahoma State University Extension (Sand Plum profile; Sand Plums for Home and Commercial Production); Texas A&M Plants of Texas Rangelands (Wild plum, cherry, peach).