Habitat

• native to western China
• hardy to zone 4

Habit and Form

• a small, deciduous shrub
• 3' tall and twice as wide
• stiff, branching in a herringbone pattern
• slow growth rate
• fine texture

Summer Foliage

• alternate leaf arrangement
• simple, deciduous leaves
• circular leaf shape
• 0.75" long and wide
• dark green leaf color
• pubescent

Autumn Foliage

• red to purple fall color
• holds color for most of the fall

Flowers

• small, pink flowers
• clustered
• blooms early June

Fruit

• small, red pome fruit
• 0.25" in diameter
• ripen in September through October
• can be showy when abundant

Bark

• thin, reddish stems
• grayish older bark
• pubescent
• when broken emits a cherry smell

Culture

• transplant from containers only because of sparse root system
• prefers well-drained, loose soil
• pH adaptable
• full sun to partial shade
• salt tolerant

Landscape Use

• hedge
• bank cover
• foundation planting
• groundcover
• for high quality foliage
• groupings or mass
• for flowers or fruit effect

Liabilities

• bees are attractive to flowers
• fireblight
• leaf spot
• spider mites
• scale

ID Features

• imbricate bud, appressed with loose exposed outer scales
• fishbone stem pattern
• small, pink flowers
• red, pome fruits
• irregular growth habit
• long spreading branches
• alternate leaves
• pubescence on underside of leaf
• cherry smell emits from broken stems

Propagation

• by seed, stratification required
• cuttings

Cultivars/Varieties

'Blackburn' - Described as a more compact form produced by some nurseries.