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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. As with every plum and cherry, the flesh is the food: the pits, leaves and twigs are cyanogenic and are not.

Family

Rosaceae

Type

shrub

Lifespan

perennial

Height

6–6 ft

Spacing

3–6 ft apart

Light

sun, part shade

Soil moisture

dry, moist

Soil pH

acidic, neutral

Bloom

April, May, June

Bloom colors

white

Wildlife value

pollinators, songbirds, butterflies, larval host

Caterpillar hosts

~456 butterfly & moth species

Landscape uses

hedge or screen, foundation

Native states

AR, CO, CT, DE, IA, IL, IN, KS, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SD, TN, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY