Purple leaf sand cherry
Prunus x cistena · Roseaceae
An upright shrub with reddish-purple leaves that hold their colour all summer, and small, fragrant, pale pink flowers in spring. It is extremely hardy.
- Size
- 8 ft tall, 6½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late April to early May
- Pets
- Toxic (moderate)
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around purple leaf sand cherry
The planner designed this bed around purple leaf sand cherry when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why purple leaf sand cherry stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Purple leaf sand cherry × 1, pink
- 2 Cottage pinks × 29, white
- 3 Heath aster 'Snow Flurry' × 6, white
- 4 Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' × 4, yellow
- 5 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 6 Winter heath 'Kramer's Red' × 3, pink
- 7 Allium 'Globemaster' × 5, purple
- 8 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 9 Star of Persia × 3, purple
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are daisies, bells and globes. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does winter heath 'Kramer's Red'.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 8 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' (4½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for three weeks. From late April to early May.
- Fills a gap. For three of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Purple leaf sand cherry and sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. When the flowers are over, cottage pinks and winter heath 'Kramer's Red' keep the bed from looking bare.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 7 Good, 1 Needs revision. Its weakest point is height and scale: Heights average about 12 in at the front, 2 ft in the middle and 4½ ft at the back. Allium 'Globemaster' is airy enough to see through, so it comes forward of its height. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where purple leaf sand cherry goes in a border
At 8 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
It gives purple foliage where winters are too cold for smokebush. It is short-lived, about ten to fifteen years, and prone to pests, so do not build a design around it.
- Purple foliage for cold climates
- Contrast in a shrub border
- Fast colour in a new garden
What to plant with purple leaf sand cherry
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid May; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Salvia 'May Night': takes over when it finishes, flowering from late May; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Blue fescue: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about purple leaf sand cherry
Does purple leaf sand cherry need sun or shade?
Purple leaf sand cherry grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does purple leaf sand cherry grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does purple leaf sand cherry flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late April to early May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Early May to late May |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early May to mid May |
| Zone 5 | Late April to early May |
| Zone 6 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 7 | Mid April to late April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should purple leaf sand cherry be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6½ ft (200 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 ft (250 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many purple leaf sand cherry plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is purple leaf sand cherry poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: moderate toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. The leaves, stems and seeds can release cyanide if chewed.
Rated from NC State Extension and the ASPCA. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like purple leaf sand cherry?
These come closest to doing what purple leaf sand cherry does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Flowering currant: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late March to late April.
- Burkwood viburnum: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 12 in wider, white, not pink.
- Bodinier's beautyberry 'Profusion': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 12 in wider, flowers mid July to early August.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after purple leaf sand cherry?
Purple leaf sand cherry is over by early May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': from mid May to mid September, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Salvia 'May Night': from late May to mid July, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Lilac 'Miss Kim': from late May to mid June, 6 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does purple leaf sand cherry look like in winter?
Purple leaf sand cherry drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Prunus
- Cherry laurel 'Otto Luyken' Prunus laurocerasus 'Otto Luyken'
- Dwarf flowering almond Prunus glandulosa 'Rosea Plena'
- Schip laurel Prunus laurocerasus 'Schipkaensis'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 8 ft (250 cm) tall, 6½ ft (200 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late April to early May; open bowls; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; purple
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Roseaceae
Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.