How to Grow and Care for Purple Leaf Sand Cherry

Purple leaf sand cherry is a beautiful flowering ornamental perfect for any landscape. It is valued for its eye-catching purple foliage, which will grace your yard from early spring through autumn when the leaves turn a stunning bronze-green. It is fast-growing, easy-to-care-for, and adapts to a wide range of soil and light conditions though it is not a long-living tree.

Purple Leaf Sand Cherry Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing a purple leaf sand cherry:

• Plant purple leaf sand cherry in a location with full to partial sun and moist but well-drained soil.
• Water purple leaf sand cherry regularly until established and during periods of dry weather.
• Prune purple leaf sand cherry in the spring after the bloom to maintain the oval shape of the shrub and keep it at the desired height.

Light

Purple leaf sand cherry should be grown in full to partial sun. If it receives too much shade, the leaves will change to a bronze-green color too early instead of in the fall when it should occur. Additionally, the more sun the plant receives, the more lush its blooms will be.

Soil

Though adaptable to many different mixtures of soil, the purple leaf sand cherry thrives best in moist but well-draining soil. The level of pH isn't important to the plant, but the drainage is, as its roots develop close to the surface and are susceptible to rot.

Water

The purple leaf sand cherry needs to be watered regularly and is not drought-tolerant. Typically, one watering per week will suffice, but more may be necessary if you've recently transplanted, are going through a period of hot, dry weather, or the plant is in its first season of growth.

Temperature and Humidity

This plant is pretty much all-weather hardy, able to withstand a wide variety of temperatures through both summer and winter, though plants grown in consistently colder weather may be smaller and produce fewer blooms. It tolerates hot and humid summers.

Fertilizer

Like any plant, feeding the purple leaf sand cherry benefits the tree but it is only necessary if the soil is poor.

Types of Ornamental Cherries

Purple leaf sand cherry is one of many ornamental cherries whose bloom is one of the highlights of the spring landscape. Other types include:

• Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus serrulata): This is a fast-growing but short-lived tree with pinkish-red blossoms that appear in the spring.
• Weeping cherry (Prunus pendula): This is a cascading tree valued in spring for its flowers and year-round for its form.
• Higan cherry (Prunus x subhirtella): The medium-sized ornamental cherry tree with pink to white flowers blooms in the spring. Higan cherry trees sold in the nursery tree are usually cultivars, including 'Autumnalis', which blooms in spring and sporadically also during warm fall weather.
• Yoshino cherry (Prunus x yedoensis): This small grafted tree is known as the most popular flowering cherry tree in the Washington D.C. area.It is an early bloomer with fragrant, almond-scented flowers.
• 'Darkstar' (Prunus x cistena 'UCONNPC001'): This compact cultivar grows only 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide with a moderate growth rate and is the only purple leaf sand cherry viable for container growing.

Pruning Purple Leaf Sand Cherry

Pruning should be done after spring bloom to maintain a tighter oval shape or to create an ornamental hedge. Trim the oldest stems first, removing about a third of the existing growth.

Always remove dead, damaged, or diseased branches. To keep the shrub in its assigned space, cut off any suckers from the base of the plant.

Purple leaf sand cherry is mostly grown as a multi-stemmed dense shrub but can also be pruned into a small tree with a short trunk.

Propagating Purple Leaf Sand Cherry

Because purple leaf sand cherry is a hybrid, it cannot be propagated from seed. Instead, use one of the many suckers at the shrub’s base for propagation. Take these steps in the early summer:

1. Dig out a few suckers using a trowel. Select the suckers with the most roots attached to them.
2. Use a pot that is large enough to accommodate the roots of the sucker. Fill it halfway with potting mix.
3. Place the sucker in the center of the pot and fill to the top with potting mix. Gently tamp down the soil around the stem. Water it well.
4. Place the pot in a bright location but out of direct sunlight. Keep it evenly moist. Wait for at least one month, or until you see a good amount of new growth, before transplanting it into the landscape. Because of its shallow, spreading root system and size, a regular-size purple leaf sand cherry is not a good shrub for growing in a container.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Purple leaf sand cherry is a hardy plant but is highly susceptible to pests and diseases, which can shorten its lifespan to less than 10 years. Watch forJapanese beetles, which can do significant damage to its foliage. Other pests include the peach tree borer, scale, spider mites, aphids, leafhoppers, and tent caterpillars.

The shrub is also at risk for several diseases, including honey fungus, leaf curl, cankers, powdery mildew, leaf spot, and bacterial leaf scorch.

This plant is also somewhat affected by black knot, a common fungal disease that appears as black, corky swellings on branches that cut off nutrients to the tree.

How to Get Purple Leaf Sand Cherry to Bloom

Bloom Months

The purple leaf sand cherry shrub blooms in April or May, after the foliage emerges. The bloom lasts between one and two weeks depending on weather conditions.

What Do Purple Leaf Sand Cherry Flowers Look and Smell Like?

The small, pinkish-white flowers are saucer-shaped with red or purplish centers. They grow in clusters and have a delicate fragrance.

How to Encourage More Blooms

The best flowering occurs when the purple leaf sand cherry is planted in full sun. If possible cut back nearby trees and other shrubs to increase light exposure. Keeping the shrub well-pruned after the bloom every year encourages healthy growth, including flower bud development.

Common Problems with Purple Leaf Sand Cherry

As attractive as it is, purple leaf sand cherry has problems that often reduce its lifespan. Watch for these signs.

Peeling, Oozing Stems

The stems of the purple leaf sand cherry tend to peel and ooze sap, a trait that is particularly noticeable if the plant develops fissures, cankers, or other wounds. Carefully remove and dispose of these damaged stems and branches to avoid spreading the problem.

Branch Breakage

The purple leaf sand cherry's branches are prone to some breakage from the black knot fungal disease. Prune out the black knot galls if possible to save branches. However, watch for frost cracks that lead to wood rot and breakage. The tree may heal itself before breaking. Or, wrap it for winter or trim away excess bark.

Dying Leaves

Keep an eye out for telltale signs of pests, such as lacy or hole-ridden leaves, and browning or withering foliage.

From: thespruce