Western Sand Cherry – Pawnee Buttes?
June 16th, 2008
Pawnee Buttes? Western Sand Cherry, Prunus besseyi ‘Pawnee Buttes’, has a graceful, groundcover form of the western sand cherry. Lustrous, green leaves turn red to purple in fall. Fragrant, white flowers in April produce heavy crops of black cherries in summer attractive to wildlife. Pawnee Buttes is one of the hardiest of deciduous shrubs, growing to 16-18 inches in height and 6- 8 feet in width, with a rounded form. Preferring full sun, it adapts to heat and can be used in hot, dry areas of the landscape. This shrub is also cold tolerant and hardy to zone 2. It prefers well drained soil, but it will adapt to most soils, including clay. Western Sand Cherry is rarely bothered by insects or diseases. Fruit is a sour cherry, purple to black in color, that can be used in pies and jellies and are attractive to birds.