Growing Tips for the Purple Leaf Plum Tree

Purple leaf plum is a medium-sized deciduous tree that is a popular showcase plant in landscapes. It is planted most often because of its deep reddish-purple leaves and white to pale pink flowers, which are among the first to appear in spring. Although it is short-lived compared to other trees, it grows fast and is great for use as a specimen, street, or shade tree.

The scientific name for this species is Prunus cerasifera and it is a member of the Rosaceae family. Many of the stone fruits are part of the Prunus genus as well. It is also rather common for this plant to be used when cultivating hybrids, such as the purple leaf sand cherry (Prunus x cistena).

The purple leaf plum goes by a variety of common names. If you see cherry plum, purple leaf plum, or myrobalan plum, it is almost certainly Prunus cerasifera.

Prunus cerasifera will have the best growth in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 4 through 9. It is originally from western Asia and southeastern Europe.

Purple leaf plum grows to approximately 15 to 25 feet tall and wide at maturity and has a rounded shape.

If you decide to plant the purple leaf plum, choose a location with full sun. The leaves will turn green if you try to grow it in the shade.

The leaves of Prunus cerasifera are 1.5 to 3 inches long. Most cultivars sold at nurseries have the reddish-purple leaves, though there are ones with green foliage.

The tree's flowers are small, fragrant, and either white or pale pink. Purple leaf plum is one of the first trees to flower in the spring with the blossoms appearing even before the leaves are fully formed.

Although the fruits are small at only 1.25 inches, they are edible. These little gems can be yellow, purple, or red, depending on the cultivar. They can be eaten raw and are a nice choice for jams.

Purple leaf plum is a popular choice to plant as a specimen tree to showcase in the yard. Since it does have a very strong color, it may be best to use only one instead of planting a group.

While it is a fairly fast growing tree, its lifespan is only 20 years on average.

The soil for your purple leaf plum should be well-drained. Acidic soil is preferred, though it can tolerate a wide variety of soils. However, it does not tolerate compacted soil or pollution, so it can be a struggle in some urban conditions.

Propagation of this species may be accomplished through cuttings or seed. Stem cuttings tend to be relatively successful and similar to hydrangea. As far as seeds go, those dropped by birds have very little trouble growing, so it is a good bet that well cared for seeds will grow as well.

If you do plant a purple leaf plum, be prepared to clean up the masses of fallen fruit that will appear each year.

Pruning should be done after flowering or you may accidentally remove flower buds and lessen the beautiful display of blossoms. Overall, this tree requires very little pruning except for regular maintenance of dead, damaged, or diseased branches.

This species is prone to attacks by Japanese beetles, mealybugs, borers, tent caterpillars, and scales. It is also susceptible to leaf spot, gray mold, verticillium wilt, and cankers.