Ready for Redbud

Want a beautiful tree that's fast and easy to grow? You're looking at it.

Growing a redbud is not a task with which to identify geniuses. just about anybody with a discernable pulse can do it, and sometimes you don't even need that. Redbuds like sun or light shade, grow in almost any kind of well-drained soil, and are just as happy in San Antonio and Tallahassee as they are in Louisville and Annapolis.

There are a number of different redbuds out there, but the one I'm talking about is our native Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis). As trees go, it's considered small, growing 20 to 30 feet tall and wide. It doesn't take long to reach that size-a 5-foot tree planted from a 5-gallon pot can double in size in three years. The rich green, broad, heart-shaped leaves may display bright yellow fall color in the Upper and Middle South; elsewhere they change to yellow-green.

But fall color isn't why you plant a redbud. No, you buy it for the zillions of pea-shaped blooms that light the still leafless branches like strips of neon in early spring. Lavender-pink is the usual color, but you can also find white-flowered ones at garden centers. To buy other selections, such as 'Tennessee Pink' (clear pink blooms), 'Covey' (weeping form), and 'Appalachia' (reddish-purple blooms), you'll probably have to look in mail-order catalogs.

Folks in Texas are well acquainted with a sensational variety called Texas redbud (C. canadensis texensis). In most respects, it looks similar to its Eastern cousin, but its glossy, deep green, waxy leaves make it highly tolerant of heat and drought. Two selections-Oklahoma' (spectacular rose-purple blooms) and Texas White' (pure white blooms)-are available at most Texas nurseries. But they aren't just for the Lone Star State-they will grow anywhere in the South that other redbuds do.

Eastern redbuds look good just about anywhere you plant them. Use a row of redbuds to line your driveway or the street in front of your house. Plant them as understory trees beneath tall pines and hardwoods. Grow them in naturalized areas, such as at the edge of woods. Or use a single tree to decorate your patio, lawn, or the corner of a foundation planting. Providing a dark background will increase the impact of the flowers.

Succeeding with redbuds may not earn you the same acclaim as discovering a new subatomic particle, but that's all right. Redbud flowers last longer and make much prettier photographs. STEVE BENDER

EASTERNREDBUD

At a Glance

Size: 20 to 30 feet tall and wide

Light: full sun or light shade

Soil: almost any well drained

Prune: in late spring after the tree blooms

Propagation: seedlings will sprout all around.

Range: everywhere except the Tropical South

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Feb 2004
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