Sloe Plum

This is my sloe plum, probably Allegheny plum. I collected it as a seed . Every year it produces glorious bloom. One year I decorated it with Christmas balls, which I subsequently added to. I think the decorations look even better with the spring bloom. The balls are too hazardous to remove because of the thorny fruit spurs.  I had always called this a sloe plum, mistakenly thinking the name was slow plum because it does not ripen till about August. A little internet search showed that sloe plum originated in Europe where the fruits were used to make jelly, preserves, and wine. There it was harvested after frost, like persimmons are here, to reduce the astringent flavor. This could be the English plum, but I rather think because of  where I found the parent growing, that it is our native Allegheny plum. I have never tried to make jelly from it, but that might be a good project for this year.