Prunus besseyi
Origin: South Dakota
Improvement status: Wild
Seeds per packet: ~12
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
Western sand cherries are delicious little dark-purple wild plums native to western North America. Sometimes considered a subspecies of eastern sand cherries (Prunus pumila), the plants are similarly low-growing, seldom reaching taller than 4-6ft, and with similar widths. As the name implies, they can grow right out of sand, but are adaptable to a range of other soil types. Like their coastal cousins, the beach plum (Prunus maritima), they are considered a dune-building species, due to their deep, soil-stabilizing root system. The leaves turn a beautiful bright red in fall. This species can be hybridized with peach, apricot, and plum species, resulting in cold-hardy fruits with a variety of flavors, colors, and growth habits. We are hopeful that by making these seeds more widely available, some of you will experiment with crossing this resilient native species with all sorts of other related fruits. Who knows what you might cook up!
Our South Dakota-grown seed came from Sheffield's Seed in Locke, NY.
GROWING TIPS: Warm-moist stratify seeds for 30 days then cold-moist for 90. Hardy to USDA Zone 3. Plant in well-drained soil in full sun, protect from rodents as seeds and during first year, then from larger mammals as the tree/shrub develops.
NOTE: All photos but the last one (which is pubic domain, along with the two illustrations) are from Herman, D.E., et al., ND State Soil Conservation Committee, North Dakota.
