The Ozark Premier Plum, otherwise known as the Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’ or Japanese Plum ‘Ozark Premier’, Ozark Premier Japanese Plum, is a rather well known tree plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its moderate growth, this tree will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
This is why all the topics you need to know in order to achieve this will be covered in this Ozark Premier Plum Care Guide. Ready? Let’s go!
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Ozark Premier Plum are the following:
- Water: The Ozark Premier Plum requires you to maintain constant moist soil and increase watering in hot weather.
- Light: Keep your Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’ in an environment where it can receive full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Ozark Premier Plum in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of sand, chalk, and loam.
And as with many other plants, these are the only three care factors you need to remember to make sure your Ozark Premier Plum is, for the most part, healthy and well to survive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Ozark Premier Plum belongs to the Rosaceae family, the genus Prunus and the species Salicina, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’ (PROO-nus sah-lih-SEE-nuh).
Other members from the Rosaceae family include Serviceberry, Red Chokeberry ‘Brilliantissima’, Prostanthera Cuneata ‘Badja Peak’, Cosmos Atrosanguineus, Skimmia Japonica, Blushing Knock Out® Shrub Rose, Photinia melanocarpa, Cecile Brunner Climbing Rose, Frosty® Potentilla, Forsythia X ‘Courtasol’, Prunus Serrulata ‘Kwanzan’, Malus ‘Red Delicious’, Taiwan Firethorn ‘Santa Cruz’, Double Yellow banksia Rose, Solidago ‘Crown Of Rays’, Darkstar® Purple Leaf Sand Cherry, Gingersnap™ Potentilla, Golden Delicious Apple, Cotinus Coggygria ‘Lilla’, Braeburn Apple, Malus Domestica, Oklahoma Redbud, Ninebark ‘Monlo’, Blenheim Apricot, Burbank Japanese Plum, Prunus Cerasifera ‘Thundercloud’, Prunus Persica Var. Nucipersica ‘Snow Queen’, Floribunda rose ‘Golden Beauty’, Climbing Rose ‘Golden Showers’, Rosa X ‘Joseph’S Coat’, Large-Flowered Climber, Spiraea Japonica ‘Conspiyet’, Thriller Lady’s Mantle, Fire Bush ‘Kasan’, First Snow Spirea, Malus Domestica ‘Fuji’, Japanese Rose and Common Laurel.
As with other Prunus’s, the Ozark Premier Plum is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
Growing Region
The Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’ is native to China and Japan.
You might be wondering why your Ozark Premier Plum’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environmental conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 3 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 5a, 5b, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9b, 9a.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Ozark Premier Plum is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, what size of Ozark Premier Plum are we talking about? What can you expect in terms of height, spread and spacing? Let’s dig in…
The Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’ can grow up to 8′ – 20′ (240cm – 6m) in 8′ – 20′ (240cm – 6m) and 8′ – 20′ (240cm – 6m) in 8′ – 20′ (240cm – 6m).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful narrow shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Watering
In terms of watering, the Ozark Premier Plum is a fairly simple plant to take care of. This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’ requires you to maintain constant moist soil and increase watering in hot weather.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Ozark Premier Plum in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
However, in our experience, the best solution to knowing the right amount of water for your Ozark Premier Plum is with the ‘thumb’ technique. Basically, you insert your finger into the soil, and based if you feel the soil moist or dry, you determine if it needs any water, which is the most appropriate way to go about watering your leafy friend.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Ozark Premier Plum prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of sand, chalk, and loam.
This is why most experts agree that the Ozark Premier Plum requires soil with loam (silt), which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Ozark Premier Plum requires full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this tree will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’ in full and direct sun (more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a deciduous plant, the Ozark Premier Plum will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes. But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early), and during the summer (mid, late).
Flowers
You can expect your Ozark Premier Plum to flower around the spring months from April to June (spring). In particular, this tree is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Ozark Premier Plum produces some beautiful white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Ozark Premier Plum have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
The Ozark Premier Plum is well known for being able to attract birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Garden
Does your Ozark Premier Plum have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Prunus Salicina ‘Ozark Premier’ owners agree that this tree will look great in most contemporary, asian/zen and cottage gardens of all types.
In particular, the Ozark Premier Plum’s best use for landscaping within your garden is as mass planting, espalier, kitchen garden, or a specimen.
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Ozark Premier Plum, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
