Purple Leaf Sand Cherry vs Falsebox - TreeTime.ca

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry vs Falsebox

Prunus x cistena

Paxistima myrsinites

CUSTOM GROW

CUSTOM GROW

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry
Falsebox

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.

Falsebox is a hardy, native evergreen shrub found in forests, rocky slopes, and open woodland sites. Though small and easily overlooked among the leaves, the maroon flowers still supply nectar and pollen for pollinators such as native bees and flies. Blooming in spring, they provide an important early-season food source. Its year-round greenery adds visual interest through the winter.

Falsebox is a low-growing shrub that tolerates a wide range of conditions, including drought once established. It thrives particularly well beneath the shade of mature trees, where few other plants succeed. With its resilience and ecological value, Falsebox is well-suited for naturalization, restoration projects, and diverse landscape plantings.

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry Quick Facts

Falsebox Quick Facts

Zone: 3a
Zone: 5a
Height: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 1.8 m (6 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: any
Light: any
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: medium
Growth rate: slow
Life span: short
Life span: medium
Growth form: prostrate to spreading
Spreading: layering - medium
Suckering: low

Toxicity: the leaves and seed are slightly toxic

Foliage: purple leaves
Foliage: evergreen, leathery leaves
Fall colour: dark red
Bark: dark red to purple
Bark: reddish-brown
Flowers: pinkish
Flowers: small, maroon-purple, fragrant
Bloom time: summer
Fruit: dark red fruit
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: purpleleaf sandcherry
Other Names: false box, mountain boxwood, mountain lover, myrtle boxwood, oregon boxleaf, oregon boxwood