PlantFiles: Purple Leaf Sand Cherry
Prunus x cistena

We acquired three seriously overgrown sand cherries when we bought our house. The previous owners had inexplicably placed them in the front and side foundation plantings. They receive less than a half day of sun due to the *13* large trees on our property. By the end of summer last year, the poor things were looking so scraggly, I considered removing them. However, since I was planning to canopy-up most of my trees in Jan, I decided to cut the sand cherries way back and see what happened come spring. As I was cutting, I noticed that many of the limbs seemed to be dead or diseased. I tried to cut back until I found healthy tissue. This resulted in shrubs which are now about 1/3 their original height. At the moment, they all seem to be leafing out well, but I have my doubts as to how they will do this season. Most of my research has indicated that they are often fatally susceptible to disease.

Mine was located in a small over-grown and weed-infested area at my home when I moved in last year. I've tended to the area by adding lots of compost, and continuous weeding. I wasn't sure if this was a 'valid' tree or not, but I liked the foliage so I trimmed it up a bit and figured I'd give it some time to see how it fares. It looks a lot better than last year, but since it was so neglected by the previous owner, there is a definite 'tilt' to it. I'm still hoping it will continue recovering with TLC. Maybe next year I'll see some blossoms. (Long Island, NY)

It has beautiful flowers and leaf coloration. I love it, so do the japanese beetles :( They loved mine to death.

These plants are the easiest plants to grow. They are incredibly drought tolerant. It is a hybrid of an Caucasian an US native species of the Prunus genus.

Planted 1quart pot 13 years ago in full sun. It's about 8 ft tall, with about 10 foot spread.
It's always had wonderful purple foliage, and full of blooms in the spring. No cherries that I've noted.
No pest problems, no special treatment. I would highly reccomend this speciman. Also note, very little suckering.

These are very popular in Oklahoma City. The color is just beautiful in contrast with green leaved trees.

Grows nicely here in Saskatchewan, Zone 3a, in full sun with no watering other than what Mother Nature provides. Local deer love it, too and keep it too well pruned.

I bought a sand cherry about 5 years ago, aftering wanting one for many, many years. When I bought it (from a reputable nursery), it was about 5 feet tall and had a nice root system. It was dead by the end of the season. I don't know what I did wrong, and I was disgusted with the whole experience.

Colorado Springs, Colorado
Grows very well here even with 3 years of drought and sporadic watering. My two plants are both 10 ft tall and 8 ft wide. Wonderful fragrance and color next to our deck. Only downside is regular pruning to keep them under control.

This plant has done very well in past 3 years of drought in Denver (Z5) with minimal watering and full sun (morning-early afternoon). Cheap buy at Home Depot. Great pink to white flowers in March-April and then another show in Fall as purple leaf color fades. But only one lone cherry to date.

Here in Zone 5b, it seems to love full sum. We planted it last year and it has already grown very nicely to stand at about 3 feet (planted at 1.5).

Beautiful foliage and colour.

Even though it is listed as sun to part shade, this tree does best in full sun in my neck of the woods. We saved it from a part shade garden and it is thriving in our sun garden. Easy to prune to keep at a smaller size.