Prunus × cistena

Prunus × cistena, the purple leaf sand cherry or dwarf red-leaf plum, is a hybrid species of prune-cherry, the result of a cross between Prunus cerasifera (cherry plum or myrobalan plum) and Prunus pumila (sand cherry).[1] A leggy bush or shrubby tree, it typically reaches a height of 1.5–2.5 meters and has a useful life of 10–20 years. The fruit are edible, if strong-tasting. Some people make jams or preserves from them. It is not advisable to eat the pits.

Prunus × cistena
Flowers and foliage
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Prunus
Subgenus: Prunus subg. Prunus
Section: Prunus sect. Prunocerasus
Species:
P. × cistena
Binomial name
Prunus × cistena
(N.E.Hansen) Koehne

Frost-tolerant, purple leaf sand cherries can be grown up to USDA Hardiness Zone 2. Commercial specimens are typically grafted to a rootstock from any of a number of other species, which will influence their growth form and final height. There are also a limited selection of cultivars available.

Prunus × cistena was developed by Niels Ebbesen Hansen in 1910.[2] In 1993 it won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[3]

In bloom in a garden setting

References
  1. Plant Facts, Prunus x cistena - Purpleleaf Sand Cherry (Rosaceae)
  2. "Nazareth College, Purpleleaf Sand Cherry Prunus x cistena". Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
  3. "Prunus × cistena". Royal Horticultural Society. 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
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