Question
Hi.  We bought a purpleleaf sand cherry from HomeDepot recently.  We live in central California, either zone 8 or 9.  Doing some research, apparently, the purpleleaf sand cherry is for zones 3-7.  Perhaps a silly question, but will planting this in central california, where temperatures can reach over 100 degrees in the summer and drop to 0 degrees in the winter, affect this tree/shrub?

Answer
More than likely it will not do good there. It is outside its range. It may be ok for a few years depending on the weather conditions but sooner or later it will be hit by the weather and either have die back or it will die. Some tines the zones will vary depending on the local weather but i would say in general it will be  a poor chance to survive. Sorry! I would take it back to Home depot and ask for a refund. Then go to a local tree nursery and ask them for a tree for your local conditions.