Eastern redbud

About Eastern redbud

Eastern redbud is a small native tree whose bare branches are covered with rosy-pink to lavender flowers in early spring, before its heart-shaped leaves open. Bees and butterflies use it, and it fits well at a woodland edge or as a specimen. It is often short-lived: Clemson notes many decline from canker after about 20 years.

Zones 4b-9a (UF/IFAS). Buy trees grown from local seed; Clemson notes trees from northern seed may not handle Southern summer heat.

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

Plant container or balled-and-burlapped trees. Container trees can go in any time the ground can be worked, but fall is the best season in the South because roots keep growing through mild weather (Clemson). Dig the hole no deeper than the root ball and at least twice as wide, keep the top roots level with the soil, and mulch 2-4 inches without touching the trunk. Plant a young tree in its permanent spot, because redbuds resent root disturbance (NC State, Clemson). It is very sensitive to lawn weed killers sprayed nearby (NC State).

Soil

Clay, sand or loam, acidic or alkaline; prefers moist, well-drained soil and won't tolerate soil that stays wet (Clemson, UF/IFAS).

Test the soil first. Loosen a wide planting area and mix 10-20 percent compost into the native soil you dig out; don't use uncomposted bark, and don't dig deeper than the root ball (Clemson).

Feeding

• Spring, once established: slow-release tree and shrub fertilizer. Clemson's redbud sheet suggests spring feedings about every six weeks with a slow-release product; follow a soil test and the label.

First-year watering matters far more than fertilizer: water daily for the first 1-2 weeks, every 2-3 days until week 12, then weekly, using about 1-1.5 gallons per inch of trunk diameter, until the tree is established, roughly 1.5 years per inch of trunk (UMN). Don't count on rain unless it was over an inch. Clemson suggests watering established redbuds deeply once a week in dry spells and mulching out to the dripline. Avoid wounding the trunk with mowers and don't spray lawn weed killers nearby; wounds let in canker and the tree is herbicide-sensitive. Too much fertilizer can burn roots and push soft growth that pests and cold injure (Clemson).

Harvest

Blooms for 2-3 weeks in early spring, before the leaves; no deadheading needed. Prune only in dry weather, cutting 6-8 inches below any sunken, cankered area and wiping pruners with rubbing alcohol between cuts (Clemson).

Varieties (18)

Pests to watch for

Leafhoppers, Scale insects, Granulate ambrosia beetle, Japanese beetle

Diseases and problems

Canker, Verticillium wilt, Leaf spot, Overwatering and waterlogged soil

In the kitchen

Pets: Not on the ASPCA's toxic plant list for dogs.