Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

1 rating

Tuesday - December 18, 2012

From: Conroe, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Edible Plants, Poisonous Plants, Trees
Title: Wild plums for jelly from Conroe TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Do wild plum trees grow in my area? I want to get some next summer to make plum jelly.

ANSWER:

The Prunus mexicana (Mexican plum) definitely grows in Montgomery County, according to this USDA Plant Profle Map. We don't know how old a tree has to be to bear fruit, but they grow to 15' to 35' tall, and begin bearing fruit fairly young. These are probably not going to show up in your supermarket, but a local Farmer's Market might be a good possibility.

We do want to caution that every part of a member of the prunus species, except the flesh of the fruit, is poisonous. So, careful about disposing of twigs, leaves, etc. that you might gather in picking the fruit, and be sure to remove the seed before you begin to process the fruit.

Follow this plant link, Prunus mexicana (Mexican plum), to our webpage on the plant to learn more about it, including blooming and fruiting times.

From the Image Gallery

Mexican plum
Prunus mexicana