Purple-Leaved Cherry Trees, Large

• Common name: Purple-Leaved Cherry Plum, Black Cherry Plum
• Latin name: Prunus cerasifera 'Nigra'
• Sold as: Bareroot half-standard and standards of 6/8cm and 8/10cm girth. Pot-grown half-standard in a 10 litre pot
• Mature size: 8m by 6m
• Flowers: Single and pale pink, from deep pink buds, before the leaves in early spring
• Leaves: Red when young, then deep purple
• Shape: Round-headed, with dark twigs
• Best soil and site: Moderately fertile soil, chalk included. Full sun
• Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• RHS Award of Garden Merit: Yes (1993)
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

The Purple-Leaved Cherry Plum is a round-headed tree with deep purple leaves, red when young, and single pale pink flowers that open from deep pink buds before the leaves in early spring. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit and is on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list.

Purple-Leaved Cherry Trees, Large Standards

Purple-Leaf Cherry, the tough and beautiful Prunus cerasifera Nigra, AKA black cherry plum, is a firm urban favourite, with its top tier reliability in poor soils, spectacular spring blossom and great foliage colour. It's one of the first cherries to flower, coming into bud in late February in warm areas. The buds open into blush-pink, single flowers, contrasted against rich burgundy-black-purple stems. Soon, glossy, pale copper new leaves emerge, which mature to deep purple, then fire up to rich reds and orange in autumn, providing interest throughout most of the year. In the winter months its dense mushroom-shaped crown brings pleasing structure.
Browse our other ornamental cherry trees, or buy the slightly less ornamental wild Prunus cerasifera, which is great for hedges.

It does bear fruit, although not regularly. The juicy red plums are sweet, and are better for making jam than eating fresh.

Delivery season: Cherry plums are delivered bareroot from late autumn to early spring, November to April.
Choosing a size: Small trees are cheaper, easier to handle and more forgiving of less than ideal aftercare, so they're best for a big planting project. If instant impact is your priority, or if you are only buying a few plants for use in a place where it's convenient to water them well in their first year, then you may as well use bigger ones. Our standard trees are measured by the girth of the trunk in centimetres, one metre above the ground, not by their height.

Growing Purple Leaf Cherry Plum Trees

Give it a bit of sun, plant on soil that's not waterlogged, and it'll grow. It'll tolerate all but the toughest of conditions. It's shallow rooted, so it's ideal on streets and next to structures: town planners love it.

It's a handsome small tree, perfect for small and medium gardens, where it'll give you good screening planted in front of a shed or outbuildings. It makes a brilliant specimen, or a subject for an avenue of trees: imagine tree after tree covered in blossom in early spring. Underplant your tree with plenty of early spring bulbs for a fabulous show in March. Choose crocus bulbs in pale and interesting shades to complement the tree's soft-pink blossom, dark bark, and mature leaves.

History & Trivia

Cerasi- means cherry, and the ending -fera means to carry or bear something, like an aqui-fer bears water (see also Christopher), and Nigra is black.
Bred in the USA in 1916, it is also sold as Prunus Blaze or Pissardii Nigra.

Standard trees are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level: their trunk's waist measurement. Unlike sapling trees and hedge plants, standards aren't measured by their height, which will vary quite a bit both between and within species.
So, a 6/8cm standard tree has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8cm and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10cm around. This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height.
On average, standard trees are 2-3.5 metres tall when they arrive, but we cannot tell you precisely how tall your trees will be before we deliver them.

Planting Companions

Royal Burgundy is the other dark-leaved tree in the family: plant the pair for two seasons of pink flowers over purple leaves. The Crab Apples Profusion and Royalty are purple-leaved too, with wine-red flowers. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Cherry Plum comes bareroot, lifted while dormant, or pot-grown for planting in any month. Bareroot trees are guaranteed for 12 months, and so is a potted tree delivered leafless between November and March.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it a Cherry or a Plum?

A Plum. It is a purple-leaved form of the Cherry Plum, Prunus cerasifera, and not a Flowering Cherry, although it is sold beside them and is one of the first of them to flower.

How big does it grow?

8 metres tall and 6 wide.

When does it flower?

In early spring, before the leaves. We find the buds showing in late February in warm areas, which makes it one of the first to flower.

Does it fruit?

Sometimes, and not every year. The red plums are sweet and juicy, and you will find them better for jam than for eating fresh.

Does it need full sun?

Yes. It needs full sun and moderately fertile soil, and grows in chalk, clay, loam and sand, in exposed or sheltered places.

When should you prune it?

In mid-summer, if at all. It is in pruning group 1, which needs little pruning; cut in mid-summer where silver leaf is a problem.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot trees are delivered from November to April, while they are dormant. Pot-grown trees can be delivered and planted in any month when you find them in stock.