NICE! Plant of the Month
(Prunus serotina var. eximia)
Family: Rosaceae (Rose family)
Other Common Names: Escarpment Choke-cherry
Type: Attractive, upright relatively fast growing tree 35 to 55 ft with 35 ft crown spread.
Natural Habitat: Sub species specific to Edwards Plateau (eximia), usually found in moist sites near streambeds, in canyons or on slopes. Adaptable to many situations if it has very good drainage.
Preferred Site and Use: Beautiful ornamental tree with attractive spring flowers, late summer and persisting into winter fruit, and fall color. Attractive shiny dark reddish bark with light horizontal striations (lenticles or breathing pores) on young trees; older trees have dark flaky bark.
Deer Resistance: Browsed frequently by deer when young; protect by caging.
Wildlife: Flowers attract hoardes of insects including bees and butterflies. Fruits enjoyed by over 35 species of birds and many small mammals. The Hill Country variety is a host plant for the Red-spotted Purple, Two-tailed Tiger Swallowtail, Spring Azure, Viceroy, and Henry’s Elfin butterflies.
Light Tolerance: Full sun to slight shade
Flowers: Late winter-early spring as leaves appear, slightly fragrant, white, five petal flowers to ¼ in. each, arranged in graceful, elongated drooping racemes 4-6 inches long.
Fruit: Small pea sized drupe, fleshy to dry, dark red to black when ripe in late summer to early fall; edible if cooked to destroy the prussic acid, otherwise toxic. After the first frost fruit ferments and birds may become tipsy. Wilted leaves and twigs can be fatal to livestock, if consumed.
Leaves: 1-2 inches wide by 2-5 inches long, blunt serrated edges, dark shiny green on top, lighter underneath, alternate, simple, deciduous.
Water Requirements: Xeric once established; water during establishment period.
Soil Requirements: Sand, loam, clay, but limestone preferred; well-drained sites only.
Maintenance: This native requires no maintenance once established. Just enjoy the view.
Planting Instructions: Space plants 20 feet apart. Dig hole at least two – five times wider than, but the same depth as the root ball in the nursery container. Sides and shape of the hole should be irregular, not smooth. Remove plant from container, taking care to support the root ball. Loosen exterior roots gently with your fingers. If the plant is root-bound and cannot be loosened by hand, the outer roots may be cut in several places to avoid root girdling. Lift the plant by the root ball and place into the hole. Backfill hole, using soil that was dug from the hole. Do not add any soil to the top of the root ball, but a thin layer of compost may be spread over the root ball and disturbed soil surface. Gently firm the soil with your hands, but do not tamp it down. Place 3-4 inches of mulch over the disturbed soil around but not touching the base of the plant.
Watering Instructions: Water deeply after planting to settle soil around roots. Then every 7-10 days, as needed, during the first growing season. Before watering, check for soil moisture at a depth of an inch or two at the edge of the root ball. Skip a watering after a rainfall of ½ to 1 inch. Maintain this watering schedule until the first fall following planting. Reduce watering during the cool fall and winter months. In a “normal” year, no watering may be necessary during the fall and winter, but during a dry period, monthly watering may be needed. Second Spring and thereafter, water monthly only during periods of drought. Once established, natives will survive with little supplemental irrigation.
NICE! Tip: This is a much underused tree, which will add additional fall colors (clear yellow to reddish) to the landscape and provide hours of wildlife watching opportunities. Disappearing from the wild due to overgrazing by exploding deer population. Avoid planting the Eastern variety of this tree (Prunus serotina var. serotina), present in East Texas, or the Western varieties (Prunus serotina var. rufula or virens), from the Trans-Pecos, as they are not adapted to our Edwards Plateau conditions and do not usually perform well here.
Look for the NICE! Plant of the Month signs and information sheets on your next visit to a participating Boerne nursery. And thank you for supporting native plants by using them in your landscapes.