Prunus pumila besseyi is a very hardy plant, probably tolerating temperatures down to about -50°c when it is fully dormant[160]. It grows best in areas with hot summers and medium rainfall, it can flower very well in other parts of the temperate zone but does not usually produce much fruit[11]. Requires a sunny position[11]. Requires a well-drained moisture retentive soil[1, 11]. The plant grows in the wild on sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils, dunes, beaches, and outwash plains - sites are typically dry and excessively drained[1050]. Thrives in a loamy soil, doing well on limestone[11]. Prefers some chalk in the soil but apt to become chlorotic if too much is present[1]. Established plants are very drought resistant[160]. Succeeds on calcareous, saline, or serpentine soils, tolerating a pH down to around 4.0[1050]. Prunus pumila besseyi is cultivated for its edible fruit in warmer regions of the temperate zone, and is also grown as an ornamental[11, 317], there are some named varieties[183]. It has proved to be remarkably prolific on the hot, dry plains east of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, etc[11]. The cultivar 'Black Beauty' crops well and has small black sweet fruits[200]. 'Hansens' has large fruits with a good flavour[200]. Prunus pumila is treated here as consisting of four more or less distinct varieties - each one is given a separate record because, amongst other differences, they vary in the size and quality of their edible fruit. Variety depressa always has prostrate to decumbent stems, and the plants form mats on the rocky or sandy substrate along streams in eastern North America. All of the other varieties sometimes have decumbent stems; specimens are sometimes misidentified as var. depressa, but nearly always some of the stems on these plants are ascending or erect. Stems of varieties besseyi and pumila are often partially buried in shifting sands on the dunes in the sandhills of Nebraska and on the dunes along the shores of the Great Lakes[270]. Variety besseyi has been introduced west of its native range as an ornamental and fruit bearer for the home garden, where its adaptation to cold winters and hot, dry summers is a valuable asset. Cultivars were developed by breeders at the Morden Experimental Station in Manitoba and at the University of South Dakota[270]. Most members of this genus are shallow-rooted and will produce suckers if the roots are damaged[238]. Plants are inclined to sucker and can produce dense thickets[160]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[200]. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. A clumping plant, forming a colony from shoots away from the crown but with a limited spread [1-2]. The root pattern is suckering with new plants from underground runners away from the plant [1-2].