# @ahs_gardening on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DJCo4s8SF-A
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/55035906-ahs-gardening-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/fc56b7f154.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-04-29T18:53:02.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Horticultural Society | American Gardener Magazine (@ahs_gardening) — https://gondola.cc/ahs_gardening

## Caption

🌿 Native Plant of the Week⁠
Western Sand Cherry⁠
(Prunus pumila var. besseyi, Zones 3–8)⁠
⁠
Meet one of North America’s own flowering cherries. While most cherries have Asian roots, Prunus pumila holds it down across the Great Plains—from Manitoba to Colorado.⁠
⁠
This rugged native grows 4–6 feet tall and wide, with fragrant white blooms in spring and glossy green leaves that shift to reddish-purple in fall. The Pawnee Buttes® selection stays a compact 1–3 feet, making it perfect as a flowering groundcover.⁠
⁠
🌸 Full sun = best blooms⁠
🍒 Black fruit feeds wildlife⁠
🍂 Fall color included⁠
⁠
Yes, it’s lovely—but like many members of the rose family, it’s not immune to pests. Watch for cankers, borers, and root rot, and treat as needed.⁠
⁠
Fun Fact:⁠
Western sand cherry is often used as rootstock for cherries, plums, and apricots.⁠
⁠
—Mary⁠
⁠
Want to support pollinators and birds? Native plants like this are the real MVPs—share with a fellow wildlife gardener.⁠
⁠
⁠
The American Gardener, the magazine of the American Horticultural Society, is a treasure trove of plant and gardening information. Native flowering cherries were included in the article “Choices Among Cherries” by Andrew Bunting in the March/April 2019 issue, available for viewing in our magazine archives at ahsgardening.org/ahs-publication-archives.⁠
⁠
⁠
Photos: Bailey Nurseries⁠, Mike Haddock / Kansas State University (kswildflower.org), Janice Tucker / Santa Fe Botanical Garden⁠
⁠
#NativePlantOfTheWeek⁠
⁠
#GrowNative⁠
⁠
#PlantNative⁠
⁠
#NativeShrubs⁠
⁠
#WildlifeGarden⁠
⁠
#PollinatorFriendly⁠
⁠
#NatureScaping⁠
⁠
#HabitatGarden

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 74
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 0

## Tags

nativeshrubs, plantnative, habitatgarden, pollinatorfriendly, naturescaping, nativeplantoftheweek, grownative, wildlifegarden

---
Copyright (c) Gondola