What Is the Difference Between Prunus Glandulosa & Prunus Triloba?

Size and Growth

• Flowering almond reaches heights of 4 to 5 feet and spreads to 4 feet wide. It grows at a moderate rate and has an open or mounded shape, though this multistemmed shrub can become leggy and messy-looking with age. In contrast, double-flowering plum reaches heights from 10 to 15 feet with an equal spread. It has a symmetrical form with a rounded, weeping crown. Also a moderately fast grower, double-flowering plum can be shaped and formed easily.

Foliage

• Flowering almond’s simple, alternate leaves are oblong to lanceolate with minutely serrated margins. They are slightly hairy, or pubescent, and grow from 1 to 3 1/2 inches long. This shrub’s summer foliage is light green, but it doesn’t develop showy color in autumn. Double-flowering plum also has alternating, simple foliage, but this shrub’s obovate leaf margins are doubly serrated. In fall, the double-flowering plum’s medium-green leaves turn a showy bronze or yellow color. This shrub’s leaves are slightly smaller than the flowering almonds, at 1 1/2 to 3 inches long.

Flowers

• Both P. glandulosa and P. triloba are prized as ornamental plants for their showy flowers. The flowering almond blooms in early spring with white or pink single or double blossoms that measure about 1/2 inch. In contrast, the double-flowering plum produces pink double blossoms in mid-spring. Its flowers range from 1 to 1 1/2 inches.

Fruit

• After blooming, both shrubs sporadically produce fruit, though neither species’ berries are ornamental. The flowering almond produces 1/2-inch, dark red drupes, while the double-flowering plum’s fruit is brown-red and slightly larger, from 1/2 inch to 1 inch wide. The double-flowering plum attracts squirrels and other wildlife with its fruit.

Hardiness

• P. glandulosa is hardy in USDA zones 4 through 8, which experience average annual low temperatures from minus 30 degrees to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. P. triloba is hardy in zones 3B through 6B, which experience lows of minus 35 F through minus 5 F.

Sunlight, Soil and Moisture

• Both species thrive in full sun to partial shade conditions. A full sun exposure site receives direct sunlight all day between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Partially shaded sites receive two or three hours of direct sun or a changing pattern of sun and shade through the day, also known as dappled shade. Flowering almond tolerates a range of soil and moisture conditions, including dry soil and drought, but doesn’t grow well in wet, poorly drained soil. Double-flowering plum also tolerates some drought, as well as clay and sandy sites, but grows best in moist, acidic, well-drained soil.