Rich,

I know exactly the tree/shrub you are talking about - I thought
the same
thing. What initially perked my interest in it, however, is
that I have a
tree at home that I've been told is a 1) Dwarf Japanse Plum AND
2) An
Ornamental Plum or some comination of those two things. The
leaves and bark
color are identical to these Purple Leaf Sand Cherries. When I
say
identical, I mean I can't tell any difference by just looking
at them. So,
the large trees you are seeing are probably what I have in my
yard vs. a
grown-up Sand Cherry. I could very well be wrong, but that
would be my
guess.


Dirr says the purple-leafed sand cherry (P. x cistena -- see
related thread) is a cross between P. pumila and P. cerasifera
'Atropurpurea' and grows 7-10 feet tall. Foliage is "intensely
reddish purple and stays effective throughout the summer."
Flowers, he says, are single, pinkish and fragrant and appear
after the leaves. Zone 7-10. Leaves appear to be a BIT large
for the ideal bonsai -- but then, who am I to talk, I have a
bonsai peach ;-) -- 7-inch leaves!

I know of no purple-leafed plum that could or would be called
"Dwarf Japanese Plum" and "Ornamental Plum" is so generic it
could be anything -- but probably is P. x cistena.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

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