Prunus cistena

Purpleleaf Sandcherry

Prunus x cistena
Height: 7 feet

Spread: 5 feet

Sunlight: full sun

Hardiness Zone: 3b

Other Names: Cistena Cherry

Description:

A popular color accent shrub, upright-branched and wide spreading; small pink flowers in spring are elegant, but the reddish-purple foliage is a standout all season long; needs full sun and well-drained soil, excellent for adding lasting color to a garden

Ornamental Features

Purpleleaf Sandcherry has attractive burgundy deciduous foliage on a plant with an upright spreading habit of growth. The pointy leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding red in the fall. It features delicate fragrant shell pink flowers along the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive pink flower buds before the leaves. The smooth bark and deep purple branches add an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Purpleleaf Sandcherry is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Purpleleaf Sandcherry is recommended for the following landscape applications;

Mass Planting
General Garden Use