Redbuds: Red-hot for Food, Form and Foliage!

Trees are an essential part of every garden design that we often overlook.  Trees connect the plane of the sky with that of the ground and help to soften architectural blunders.  They create playful shadows and flowering trees often repeat the colors of the ground plane well up into the canopy.  Many gardeners focus upon Dogwoods for spring flowering trees, but there are a bevy of additional choices.  One native that has received a lot of attention of late is the Eastern Redbud, Cercis canadensis.

Eastern Redbud is found growing from New Jersey south to Florida and west to Missouri.  Oddly, its range does not extend into Canada, as the species epithet would imply!  It is a small tree, with a more or less circular crown, growing to 15’ to 20’ in height and width.  A member of the fabaceae or pea family, it is able to utilize the nitrogen in the atmosphere and can consequently grow in very poor or thin soils.  Come late April or early May, the tree produces clusters of tiny lavender flowers along the stems.  The flowers are pea-like in appearance and are edible, bearing a taste very similar to peas!  They were eaten both raw and boiled by the Native American Indians and provide a colorful addition to salads.  The bean-like pods that follow are also edible when small and the seeds can be roasted.   The pods also served as the inspiration for the name of the tree.  Cercis is derived from the Greek, Kerkis meaning weavers shuttle, which the pods closely resemble in appearance. Redbuds grow quickly, with a lifespan of 20 to 30 years.  They grow best in full sun and well-drained soils.

The dark green leaves are heart shaped and often provide a clear yellow fall color.  In fact, the renewed interest in this plant is not for the flower, but for the exciting foliar colors and form.  The first redbud introduced for foliage was ‘Forest Pansy’.  It appeared over 15 years ago and sports dark purple foliage.  Within the last 5 years, ‘Hearts of Gold’ appeared which has bright yellow foliage.  Personally, I was not convinced whether or not a bright yellow tree is appropriate for the garden.   Three years ago we decided to use this tree as a ‘cut-back’ shrub at Rutgers Gardens, whereby we annually cut it back to 12 to 18” from the ground.  When treated in this manner, the plant continuously produces new growth and golden yellow foliage all summer, reaching 6’ tall by August.  It makes a great backdrop for blue and purple flowers and definitely is appropriate for the garden!  Most recently an introduction called The Rising Sun™ was introduced which has apricot colored new foliage that transitions to yellow and then to green.  During the spring and early summer, all three colors are present at once!  For the light shade, consider ‘Floating Clouds’ and ‘Whitewater’, which have white variegated foliage and are ideal for brightening that shady corner.

Pendulous or weeping forms have also been a focus for new introductions.   Lavender Twist™, also known as ‘Covey’ was one of the first weeping introductions.  It has larger than normal leaves with a strongly pendulous habit.  If it is simply allowed to mound-up on its own, it will grow to 8-10’ tall.  However, if it is placed on top of a wall it will easily cascade down a 20’ tall structure.  Even more dramatic is to drape it over a series of rocks; the growth will follow every contour of the rocks, almost as if it was molded to the rocks.  Great for the winter garden!  C. canadensis var. texensis ‘Traveller’ is similar, but the foliage is glossy and ‘Ruby Falls’ has red foliage! 

With the appearance of all these new selections, Cercis is no longer a small tree that is merely for spring flowers and salads. Cercis is now a plant with red-hot new summer foliage colors and great winter form, providing a number of exciting new ‘tools’ for the garden designer!    

 

Last Modified: 04/30/2012, rugardens@njaes.rutgers.edu.
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