Prunus pumila seed

LATIN NAME: PRUNUS PUMILA

COMMON NAME: Sand Cherry

The sand cherry shapes the low, twiggy shrub with the small, glossy, green leaves and the clusters of the small, white flowers, the round, dark-purple cherries following in the summer, the plant spreading into the dense, low thicket by the runners. It grows steadily into the rounded, spreading form, and it stands the cold, dry plains well. It likes the sun, and the light, sandy, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The sand cherry has earned a steady place in the studies of the cold-hardy fruit shrubs, and the pumila species appears in the breeding work on the dwarf cherry rootstocks and the prairie orchard lines. The work looks at the way the low runners bind the sandy soil, the dark fruit chemistry, and the seed biology. The fruit breeders keep the cold tolerance in view, and the growers of the prairie and shelter-belt plants list the shrub in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

On the dry prairie, the sand cherry anchors the shifting ground with the low, rooting branches. The white flowers open with the late frosts, the dark cherries feed the birds, and the shrub makes the fine shelter belt, the jam fruit and the erosion plant. It takes well to the light, sandy, sunny ground. Low-growing, frost-proof and prairie-born.

To grow the Sand Cherry from seed, crack the hard shells with a file and soak the kernels overnight.

Crack the hard shells with a file and soak the kernels overnight, and keep the young shrubs in the open, sunny spot. The dark cherries follow in their season. , then press them into pots of sandy compost, keep the pots lightly watered, and the young shrubs get away once the roots hold. The dark cherries follow in their season.