osoberry / Indian plum

Photo: Michael Wolf — CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Survives zone 6 through 8

Harvest calendar

Best planted in early spring after your last frost, or in fall before the ground freezes, depending on your climate.

Very bitter and almond-flavored until fully ripe, when it sweetens into something between cherry and cucumber — a thin layer of flesh around a large stone means it's a minor nibble rather than a real harvest, best picked only when fully dark and soft. ⚠ The almond note is the clue — the stone and the bark are cyanogenic, as elsewhere in the rose family. Eat the thin flesh, not the kernel.

Hardiness

Zone 6–8

Habit

Shrub

Edible part

Fruit

Ripens

Jun–Jul, after flowering in late winter — among the earliest native shrubs to both bloom and fruit

Mature size

Suckering shrub or small tree 1.5–5 m, among the first natives to leaf out in spring

Light

PARTIAL (forest understory) — erect in sun, arching in part shade

Soil pH

6.0–7.0 (near-neutral)

Environment

Temperate

Native range

Pacific coast of North America — southern British Columbia south through Washington and Oregon to central California, in woodland edges, streamsides and open forest.

Status

Wild

Years to fruit

2–4 yrs

Growth speed

Fast

Spacing

200 cm (79 in) apart — about 4 m² (43 sq ft) per plant

Leaf shape

Alternate, oblong-lanceolate, 5–12 cm long, pale bluish-green with entire margins — among the very first native shrubs to leaf out, often by February, and smelling of cucumber when crushed.

Root system

Suckering and rhizomatous, forming spreading thickets from shallow lateral roots. That habit is the plant's main garden consideration: give it room, or expect to cut suckers back annually.

Fruit description

Small drupe about 1 cm, ripening from peach-coloured through red to blue-black with a pale bloom, on red stalks. Thin flesh over a large stone, bitter to faintly sweet depending on ripeness — usually cooked or left for birds, which strip it quickly. Only female plants carry fruit.

Propagation

Divide rooted suckers in early spring, much the simplest route. Seed needs a long cold stratification. Sex is not visible until flowering, so buy or take material from a known female plus a male.

Pollination

DIOECIOUS — needs male and female plants

The edible parts listed above are a starting point, not a field guide. Identify a plant with certainty — ideally against a local authority — before eating any part of it, and read the full disclaimer. Spotted something wrong? Report it.