Purple Leaf Sand Cherry vs Buttonbush - TreeTime.ca

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry vs Buttonbush

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Prunus x cistena

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Buttonbush
Purple Leaf Sand Cherry

Buttonbush is a moisture loving shrub that provides year round interest.

It has round, fragrant flowers resembling small buttons or pincushions. The flowers transform into small reddish-brown fruit that persists into winter while the leaves take on shades of red in fall.

Providing essential food to bees, butterflies, and other insects, this shrub is versatile. Try it in your next shrub border.

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.

Buttonbush Quick Facts

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry Quick Facts

Zone: 4a
Zone: 3a
Height: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 1.5 m (5 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Light: any
Light: any
Moisture: normal, wet
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: medium
Life span: long
Life span: short
Suckering: low
Suckering: low
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: the leaves and seed are slightly toxic
Foliage: purple leaves
Fall colour: dark red
Bark: dark red to purple
Flowers: large, white, spherical
Flowers: pinkish
Fruit: dark red fruit
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: ON, QC, NS, NB
Other Names: purpleleaf sandcherry