Summer field notes

Cold Hardy Plums and Cherry Hybrids: Summer Field Notes

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Field note · August 2026

Hybrid wild plums in Manitoba

Oak Summit Nursery · Southern Manitoba

wild plums, with some hybridization between canada wild plum (Prunus nigra) and the american wild plum. the tell is in the leaf margins, they're serrate or jagged, where straight Prunus nigra will have some rounded soft double bumps. but I'm just getting specific with the ID, really it's going to be an excellent pollinator or rootstock either way, and the plums will probably be inside some small range around an inch with a slightly astringent skin but otherwise good for preserves or to eat a handful fresh off the tree. they're attractive small trees, the white flowers in the spring are impressive, they're a tough native fruit tree. plant more wild plums ;)