Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 34 ecoregions — 26 climate-resilient through 2070 · 8 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

›

Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

›

Arizona Mountains forests

›

Blue Mountains forests

›

Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

›

Central Tallgrass prairie

›

Central-Southern Cascades Forests

›

Colorado Rockies forests

›

Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland

›

Eastern Canadian Forest-Boreal transition

›

What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun

Water

Low water

Spacing

72"

Habit

Low, rounded, densely branching deciduous coastal shrub

Care tips

•

Plant two or more distinct seedlings — beach plum is self-incompatible and a lone clone barely fruits.

•

Give it full sun and lean, sharply drained sandy soil; it is salt and drought tolerant but resents rich, wet ground.

•

Eat only the ripe plum flesh — seeds and wilted foliage carry cyanogenic toxins.

Lifecycle

Planting

Plant in full sun in sandy or gravelly, sharply drained soil — the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center lists it for dry-to-moist sandy or gravelly soils and notes it is salt tolerant, making it suited to coastal and exposed sites. It is self-incompatible, so plant at least two seedlings (not clonal divisions of one plant) to set fruit.

Transplanting

Move young plants while dormant; established shrubs on dune soils resent root disturbance. Keep mulch off the crown.

Early growth

Water through the first season to establish, then back off — this is a drought-tolerant dune shrub that declines in rich, wet, or heavily fertilized soil. Lean, fast-draining ground keeps it healthiest.

Maturity

Mature plants are usually shrub-like up to about 8 feet (rarely more tree-like to about 12 feet per the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center), flowering white April through June and ripening tart blue-purple plums in late summer. Prune lightly after flowering to renew dense twiggy growth.

Propagation

Per the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: collect fruit when filled out, firm, and ripe-colored, clean seed from the pulp, and air-dry briefly; for spring sowing stratify in moist sand 30-60 days warm, then cold-stratify (36-41 degrees F) 60-90 days. Semi-hardwood and softwood cuttings taken in summer root most easily.

Pollination

Self-incompatible

Beach plum is self-incompatible: a single clone sets little or no fruit, so plant two or more genetically distinct seedlings within bee-flight range for a real crop. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center records Special Value to Native Bees — its abundant April-June white flowers are an early-season nectar and pollen source for native bees, which carry out the cross-pollination the plant requires.

Plants don't grow alone

Larval host

Moth

Hummingbird clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe)

BAMONA lists cherries and plums (Prunus) as Hemaris thysbe larval hosts; beach plum is Prunus maritima.

Nectar forage

Bee

Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens)

Beach plum carries the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center "Special Value to Native Bees" flag; its early profuse white bloom is a nectar and pollen source for native bumble bees such as the common eastern bumble bee.

Pollen forage

Bee

Sweat bees (Lasioglossum spp.)

Small native sweat bees are typical early-spring visitors to mass-flowering Prunus; consistent with the documented Special Value to Native Bees, though not named individually by the source.

Fruit forage

Bird

Eastern songbirds (multi-species) (multiple species (Passeriformes))

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center records that birds and other wildlife eat the fruit; the late-summer plums are a coastal food source for songbirds.

For people

Parts edible

The ripe blue-purple plums are edible and tart — traditionally made into jam, jelly, and preserves along the Atlantic coast. Only the ripe flesh should be eaten: the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center warns that the seeds contain poisonous substances and partially wilted foliage contains hydrocyanic acid (toxic to livestock), as is typical of the genus Prunus.

Edible parts

ripe fruit (flesh)

Toxic parts

seeds, wilted foliage

Native range

Native across 11 US states + 1 CA province.

AHS heat range

1-9

Native ecoregions

Naturally belongs in 10 ecoregions — its native range crosses a state or province each one spans (not necessarily this exact habitat).

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

›

Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

›

Atlantic coastal pine barrens

›

Eastern Canadian Forest-Boreal transition

›

Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests

›

Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests

›

Northeastern Coastal Forests

›

Northeastern Hardwoods

›

Southern Great Lakes forests

›

Western Great Lakes forests

›

Climate notes

•

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents Prunus maritima as native to dunes and sandy soil near the coast, with a Sun light requirement, Medium water use, dry-to-moist sandy or gravelly soils, and salt tolerance; bloom is white, April through June.

•

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center does NOT publish a USDA hardiness-zone range for this species. The "3a-7b" range here is derived conservatively from its documented native distribution (coastal New Brunswick and Maine south to New Jersey) rather than quoted from the source — treat it as an estimate, not a published figure.

•

Warning (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center): the seeds contain poisonous substances and partially wilted foliage contains hydrocyanic acid toxic to livestock — the ripe flesh of the plum is the edible part.

In the designer

Growth over time

36-96" tall · 48-96" spread

Mature rounded thicket with reliable spring bloom and fruit (given a cross-pollination partner).

Design roles: Structure · Pollinator · Edible

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Beach plum

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations