Garden of Eatin’

Gardening with native plants has become very popular, especially in Missouri, which boasts the largest Wild Ones chapter in the nation. Wild Ones is a group dedicated to promoting interest in gardening with native plants. It’s easy to see why native gardening is popular, when these plants are so well adapted to our region that they can often take hold and thrive with relatively little effort on the part of the homeowner. Natives also support pollinators, other insects, and wildlife, providing shelter and hosting and feeding them from youth to maturity. 

But what often takes a back seat in native-plant discussions is their use as a source of food for the homeowner.

And that’s a shame, as our native flora supported native people long before settlers of the westward expansion brought European varieties to this land. It’s worth getting to know and use them in the edible home landscape.

In her book On the Way Home, celebrated Missouri author Laura Ingalls Wilder, upon arriving in the Ozarks after a long trek from South Dakota, observed:

“The fences are snake fences of split logs and all along them, in the corners, fruit grows wild. There are masses of blackberries, and seedling peaches and plums and cherries, and luscious-looking fruits ripening in little trees that I don’t know, a lavishness of fruit growing wild. It seems to be free for the taking.” 

Wilder’s daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, clarifies in a footnote to that book that the “luscious-looking fruit” her mother mentions were Missouri’s native pawpaws and persimmons. After enduring a devastating drought in South Dakota, the Ozarks must have seemed like a Garden of Eden to Wilder, or at least a garden of eatin’.

So, what’s the best way to take advantage of this natural bounty? Because our native fruit trees offer so much for wildlife, the insect world, and human beings, it’s a good idea to start with them. Here are three to consider planting in your own backyard.

Persimmon

Who wouldn’t love a persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) tree, with its distinct bark — resembling alligator hide — and its offering of plentiful, ripe fruit each fall? You don’t have to be a box turtle to appreciate the pulpy orange flesh, though they love them, too. You can press ripe persimmons through a sieve to extract a pudding that works well in cookies, ice cream, bread, and more, similar to pumpkin meat but with a hint of maple sweetness. For a healthy take, mix persimmon pudding with yogurt or add to squash soup. They’re also delicious right off the tree, but wait until they’re ripe, or the astringency will make your mouth pucker. Much of that is in the peel, too, but when you run the fruit through a sieve, the peel gets removed. If you pick them too soon, simply leave them to ripen in a paper bag, as the natural ethylene gasses will work their magic.

Folklore holds that if you split a persimmon seed, it will foretell the state of our upcoming winter. If the kernel inside the seed resembles a spoon, we’ll see heavy snow to shovel; if it’s a knife, we should expect cutting winter winds; and a fork suggests powdery snow over a mild winter.

Persimmons make for an attractive landscape tree, growing to 60–65 feet. Can you still harvest the fruit at this height? Conveniently, persimmons drop just as they ripen, and while they might look puckered and even smashed, if you get them at this stage, they’re perfect.

There’s also some thought that one could try to trim the trees to harvest height, as is often done in home orchards to other fruit bearers, but this approach is not recommended. 

“A tree wants to be a tree,” said MDC Forest Nursery Supervisor Mike Fiaoni. “I believe even though you trim it to try and keep it small, it is still going to try and be the tree.”

So, you might just let the persimmon grow to its natural height in your landscape. If gathering fruit from the ground, take care to make sure they’re easily cleaned of debris and not already claimed by insects. And of course, it’s better to avoid pesticides in the home garden anyway but especially where you’ll be gathering fruit to consume.

Male and female flowers grow on separate trees, so plant at least two trees or order a grafted nativar (cultivated native) that will bear fruit.

Wild Plum

Speaking of trees being trees, you might think of our wild plum (Prunus americana) in terms of thickets, but it’s pretty easy to encourage them to take on the form of a classic orchard tree: Just cut the suckers.

For the low, low price of $3, my husband and I now enjoy three mature plum trees in our backyard, and they’ve grown without all the care and effort you’d ordinarily associate with an orchard tree. Through Wild Ones, we purchased three seedlings as part of a group order to the George O. White State Forest Nursery in 2020, and they bore fruit in 2023. The snow-white blossoms are plentiful in early spring, drawing birds and insect pollinators and filling the air with a heady scent. The largest is already about 15 feet, though Fiaoni says they can top out at 20. He recommends mowing or cutting the suckers to prevent thickets and can show you a whole orchard full of gracefully shaped wild plum to prove this works.

The fruit is deliciously tart right off the tree. I’ve also made it into sugar-free jams, sauces, and chutneys. The plums are small enough that you can use a cherry pitter to remove the stone and thereby retain the skin for its nutrients. I use honey to sweeten and apple cider vinegar and onions, garlic, and spices if going for a chutney. I don’t add pectin, as the plum’s own natural pectin thickens it enough, skin-on. It would undoubtedly do well in a plum wine or cider. 

It’s a good idea to plant at least two for cross-pollination.

Pawpaw

Thanks to the lobbying efforts of a group of fourth-grade civics students from St. Louis’ New City School, the pawpaw (Asimina triloba) became Missouri’s official state fruit tree in 2019. 

It’s a worthy distinction for what is essentially a tropical fruit, growing right here in Missouri without any close relatives to accompany it on the evolutionary trail. That’s a bit of an oddity all its own, and the fact that it's pollinated mainly by flies ups the strange factor. Some gardeners hang raw meat in its branches to attract its usually unwanted pollinator. The leathery, dark purple flowers seem like something out of a sci-fi flick.

In the home landscape, the pawpaw is a lovely, unusual tree, growing to a height of 15 to 30 feet, with slender branches and large, oblong leaves. It thrives in the shade, owing to its status as an understory tree in the wild, though you might get more plentiful fruit with a bit of sun. But rather than shade, your biggest obstacle to reaping this tasty “custard apple,” so aptly named for its creamy texture, are the raccoons, opossums, and squirrels who also have a hankering for the fruit. The trees will sucker, so if you’ve got a nice, shady area, give it over to a pawpaw grove, so there’s more than enough for all. We find the combination of pawpaw and native sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) to be just right for a spot where a neighboring apartment building casts shade most of the day.

Plant several seedlings of different varieties for best cross-pollination.

The culinary uses for pawpaw are vast, as they remain so little explored. They work as a substitute for just about any tropical fruit in smoothies, ice cream, and the like. They’re unforgettable when ripe and ready, and even can be used in salsa.

Other native trees with edible fruit include chokecherries (Prunus virginiana), serviceberries (Amelanchier arborea), and eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana). Serviceberries taste like an almond-infused blueberry right off the tree, and juniper berries add a pinelike flavor to teas, fermented vegetables, and smoked meat. Chokecherries got that name for a reason and do better as a honey-sweetened jam.

As for general gardening advice when working with native edible trees, Missouri State Botanist Malissa Briggler says, “Just pay attention to the light, moisture, and soil requirements as you plan the garden, just like you would when planting any native.”

All the tree fruits mentioned are commonly consumed, but if they are new to you, there are steps you can take to be safe:

Make sure you obtain the seeds, seedlings, or trees from a reputable source and have them clearly identified before planting.

Take extra care with cultivated versions of our natives, as they might not feed pollinators the same way and might not possess the same qualities for human use.

Try a small amount at first to see how your system reacts, as some people report sensitivities.

Gardening with our native fruit trees can be a fun, rewarding, and tasty experience — for both you and the wildlife and pollinators you wish to support. ▲

Lisa Brunette has been writing professionally for more than 30 years. She and her husband, Anthony, share backyard homesteading stories at brunettegardens.com. They received a platinum award for their native-plant garden from the St. Louis Audubon Society in 2022.