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Friday - April 08, 2011

From: Houston, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Is a Mexican plum planted last Spring in Houston ready to bloom
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I live in Houston, TX. I bought my Mexican Plum last late Spring. It was about 4' tall. It is now about 6' tall, very healthy with lots of beautiful leaves. It gets a lot of sun. It did not blossom this Spring. I have not changed anything. It gets no lawn fertilizer. Are there male/female trees, one of which will not blossom? I'm sick I will not have plums for my birds. Thank you.

ANSWER:

If you bought your Prunus mexicana (Mexican plum) late last Spring, it has spent the time since adjusting to its new surroundings. Plants have blooming in their Prime Directives; they must bloom in order to fruit, set seed and reproduce more of themselves. It sounds like your tree has come through without transplant shock, which often happens if a woody plant is planted badly or when it is too hot, so you're doing everything right. The Mexican Plum grows to be 15 to 35 ft. in height, which means your little tree is still hardly an adolescent. Give it a couple more years to grow up, and don't forget to make sure it is getting adequate moisture. A new young tree like that should be watered by pushing the hose down in the dirt around the tree and letting it dribble slowly until water comes to the surface. In the hot weather this should be done at least every week. We believe that all you have left to do is be patient.

From our Native Plant Image Gallery:

From the Image Gallery

Mexican plum
Prunus mexicana