Sand Cherry
Prunus pumila
A low, sprawling cherry of dunes, shores, and rocky barrens, smothered in white bloom each spring. Tough, salt- and drought-tolerant groundcover with edible dark cherries.
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 1–6 ft
- Spacing
- 3–6 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- May
- Bloom colors
- white
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, butterflies, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~456 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- hedge or screen, foundation, erosion control
- Native states
- CO, IL, IN, KS, MA, ME, MI, MN, NE, NH, NY, PA, SD, VT, WI