Mexican Plum

Prunus mexicana

Hills guide picknative · Hill Countrysold locallytoxic

Mexican Plum is a small tree native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 15–20 ft tall and 15–20 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms white and pink in Feb–Apr. Good for birds and butterflies.

Toxic — livestock. Cyanogenic foliage like other Prunus; wilted leaves are the risk.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Mexican Plum against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

From our guide

Village of the Hills

Small tree with white fragrant flowers on bare branches in early spring, followed by edible purple plums.

Why it works here

One of the first natives to bloom, and the fragrance carries. Handles limestone and part shade at the edge of a woodland.

Watch out

Fruit drop is messy on pavement. Short-lived by tree standards — plan on decades, not centuries.

The facts

9 sources

Type: Small tree
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Low
Height: 15–20 ft
Spread: 15–20 ft
Bloom: Feb–Apr · white, pink
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on clay, dry, loam, moist, rocky, sand, well drained
Deer: Low — deer eat it; cage or plant where they cannot reach. Browsed hard, fruit included. Protect young trees.
Wildlife: Supports birds and butterflies

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

782 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

5, 15, 30, 45 gallon

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.