Red Tipped Cocoplum CAPE CORAL
Rounded, shiny green leaves are set off by red-tipped new growth on this most commonly sold variety. The plant produces small white flowers, followed by fruit that's often made into jelly or as an attraction in a wildlife garden.
The plum is pink and ripens to purple with a fairly bland flavor, and the almond flavored seeds can be roasted and eaten or crushed for use in cooking.
Plant in spring, summer, or fall, spacing plants 3 to 6 feet apart or closer if you want a hedge line. Dig a hole only as deep as the root ball and 2 to 3 times as wide. If your soil is in very poor condition, amend the soil you've removed from the hole with a small amount of compost. Otherwise don't amend it at all.
Terrific as hedge shrubs or privacy plants, these native Florida plants can grow to about 15 feet if you let them though most of the time they're kept trimmed to around 4 feet. This is an easy-care plant that can be kept more manicured for a formal look or left to grow in its naturally pretty rounded shape in a casual landscape style. There is a "horizontal" cultivar which can be grown as more of a groundcover shrub and is more salt tolerant than "Red Tip" coco plum.
This shrub is a moderate grower that you can keep trimmed about 3 feet when young, and 4 to 6 feet when the plant is mature. Moderately salt tolerant, these plants need the warmth of Zone 10 to thrive and are evergreen unless winter is harsh.
A full to part sun location is best, though these shrubs will grow in part shade.
