Purple Leaf Sand Cherry vs Mongolian Cherry - TreeTime.ca

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry vs Mongolian Cherry

Prunus fruticosa

Prunus x cistena

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Mongolian Cherry
Purple Leaf Sand Cherry

Mongolian Cherry is a hardy shrub that is often grown as an ornamental. This plant makes an attractive flowering hedgerow that requires little maintenance. The dark red cherries are tart and desirable for baking, wine-making, and canning. This shrub is popular with wildlife.

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry provides bright reddish-purple leaves that turn bronze-green in the fall. In the spring, tiny flowers with a pinkish white hue bloom. The flowers are small, but the impact comes from the shrub blossoming all at once.

The Purple leaf sand cherry can be susceptible to pests and diseases in more humid areas; a typical life span is approximately 15 years. Not suitable for a privacy hedge on its own but is often alternated with lilacs. Often used as an accent plant that attracts birds and bees.

Mongolian Cherry Quick Facts

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: short
Life span: short
Suckering: medium
Suckering: low


Toxicity: the leaves and seed are slightly toxic
Foliage: purple leaves
Fall colour: dark red
Bark: dark red to purple
Flowers: clusters of white flowers
Flowers: pinkish
Fruit: tart dark red cherry
Fruit: dark red fruit
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Other Names: dwarf cherry, european dwarf cherry, steppe cherry
Other Names: purpleleaf sandcherry