Purple-leaf Sand Cherry
Prunus x cistena
 The Purple-leaf Sand Cherry is a beautiful specimen shrub that should be used as a focal point. It produces pinkish white fragrant flowers in the spring. The red, purple leaves appear at about the same time as the flowers and remain throughout the summer. The leaves vary in color between redish purple to burgundy. The fall color of the leaves is bronze green. Another added feature of the Sand Cherry is the black, purple fruit that appears in July. The fruit is sour yet edible and great for making jams.
Purple-leaf Sand Cherry require full sun with moist well-drained soil. The mature height is 7-10 feetall and approximately 6-8 feet wide. The picture above is a fully mature shrub. Sand Cherry's have several drawbacks. One of them is that they are short lived shrubs with a live span of around 10 years. The other problem is that like other shrubs in the prunus family, they are susceptible to multiple pests.
Purple-leaf Sand Cherry is considered a medium-sized shrub with an upright oval spreading growth habit. I recommend pruning your Sand Cherry yearly. If you do not prune, the branches will weigh down as it matures, which will establish an opening in the center of the tree.
From a distance Purple-leaf Sand Cherry can be mistaken for the Japanese Red Maple because of its brilliant color. However, Purple-leaf Sand Cherry belongs to the Rose family.
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