Time Frame

• Since flowering cherry trees -- including the purple leaf sand cherry -- bloom in spring, gardeners should wait until the flower display finishes before pruning the tree. Pruning before the tree puts on its annual show reduces the number of flowers, for a less spectacular spring tree. Because these trees flower in spring, you can prune by May or June.
  
  

Warnings

• If the purple leaf sand cherry never gets pruned, its branches slowly weigh down as the tree ages. The branches then angle downward, and the tree has an open center. While you may not wish to extensively prune this tree annually, you should prune to maintain an upward form. Additionally, these trees have an overall medium growth rate, but do have a rapid growth rate for suckers. You'll need to concentrate on these when pruning.
  
  

Process

• Inspect your tree for dead, damaged or diseased branches and remove these for the tree's health. Clip them off at the base. Next, remove suckers from the tree trunk or the base of old pruning cuts, snipping them off with pruning shears. After this, cut off limbs that compress other limbs, branches that grow vertically or branches that crowd the tree canopy, which restrict air circulation. Once you've thinned the tree and removed the undesirable wood, cut back long branches to control the tree's size.
  
  

Appearance

• The purple leaf sand cherry bears blackish-purple colored fruits in summer, but these blend in with the glossy, dark purple foliage. Don't worry about reducing the amount of fruit when you prune the tree. The fruit is inedible and blends in so well with the foliage that it isn't a main attraction. The real draw of these trees remains the flower display.