Help identify this shrub/plant!

Fairffdjmf

please help. Had this for years and can’t remember what it is. 12-18inches tall. Seems to spread by runners, never gets any bigger or bushier. Looks like dead twigs in winter, flowers come in March followed by leaves. Flowers last about a month. Any ideas? 

Silver surfer

Welcome to the forums.
Interesting.
I wonder where you live?
Prunus sp.?
Might it be a Prunus persica...a peach...that is growing in an area not suitable for it/too cold for it?

  https://www.google.com/search?q=prunus+persica+flowers&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjypZ_m3NruAhUHaRQKHeaUAXEQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=prunus+persica+flower&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQARgAMgIIADoGCAAQBxAeOgQIABBDOgcIABCxAxBDUMk6WIKEAWDwkQFoAnAAeACAAXiIAdQWkgEFMTcuMTKYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=BmkhYPIKh9JR5qmGiAc&bih=579&biw=1280&client=firefox-b-d#imgrc=PkxZ19ipYZ_frM

Fairffdjmf

I’m in Liverpool. Had it for about 20 years. It was in a shady site where it grew taller( about 3ft) but still only in a twig like fashion putting out runners every year. Moved it to a sunnier spot a couple of years ago but it hasn’t really done any better. I did think it might be in the prunus family but it’s growth pattern seems wrong. 

rachelQrtJHBjb

Could it be Prunus tenella? Flowers look about right. There is a huge swathe of it at Sissinghurst as you go through the pleached trees towards the nut walk. Here's the photo I took in April 2019.

Silver surfer

rachelQrtJHBjb said:

Could it be Prunus tenella? Flowers look about right. There is a huge swathe of it at Sissinghurst as you go through the pleached trees towards the nut walk. Here's the photo I took in April 2019.

Perfect suggestion....Prunus tenella, common name  dwarf Russian almond
A suckering dwarf shrub.
Should have thought of that. Duh!

Fairffdjmf

Thanks guys. I knew I could count on this forum. Yes prunus tennella looks right! 

rachelQrtJHBjb

Silver surfer said:

rachelQrtJHBjb said:

Could it be Prunus tenella? Flowers look about right. There is a huge swathe of it at Sissinghurst as you go through the pleached trees towards the nut walk. Here's the photo I took in April 2019.

Perfect suggestion....Prunus tenella, common name  dwarf Russian almond
A suckering dwarf shrub.
Should have thought of that. Duh!

I really fancy getting it. I think I've also seen it at Beth Chatto's. The paving at Sissinghurst is keeping it at bay. It's a show-stopper when in flower but I bet it looks very messy when just in leaf and romping through the border.

Fairffdjmf

Yes. Certainly not at its best in the winter! But the flowers early in spring are worth it, and by planting it amongst things that excel after April you don’t notice it so much when it’s just leaves in the summer.