Photo of a 16 year old Mexican plum by Suzanne Longley at her home in Houston

Mexican Plum

Prunus mexicana

Every spring, this small ornamental tree blossoms into a sparkling snow white cloud. Trees in full bloom are sweet scented and often buzzing with nectar bees. Wildlife and birds love the fruit. The Mexican plum grows 15 to 20 feet high. In the fall, the deciduous leaves turn a striking color of orange before dropping. As the bark matures, it gains character with a dark, papery exfoliation.

In full sun or partial shade as an understory tree, this Texas native is easy to grow. It’s drought and heat tolerant, requires little fertilizer, and has few problems with pests especially when planted in healthy, well drained soils.

It’s also commonly called big tree plum, inch plum, and fall plum.