Fabaceae: Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud)
20180227 First redbud blooming
20180121 planted in flat, some left over
2018011x soaked 24 h
20180113 Put in can with rocks and shook fro five minutes or so.
20170321 tied red silk ribbon to many of the front woods redbuds - failed to catch some of the ones by the road & in the NE woods. Just getting started, although other areas have been blooming for a while
20170312 noticed our redbuds blooming when walking in the snow.
Two along road, one along driveway, clusters in front woods, one near compost
propagation from seed:
Scarification: Soak in hot tap water, let stand in water for 24 hours, repeat process on seed that did not imbibe.
Stratification: cold stratify for 60 days.
Germination: sow seed 1/4" deep, tamp the soil, mulch the seed bed.
Other: if boiling water treatment does not allow seed to imbibe, sulfuric acid treatment is required.
John & Lisa have Hearts of Gold
Cercis ‘Merlot’ (Redbud)
Improvement: Better sun tolerance
‘Merlot’ represents a more color-stable and sun tolerant purple leafed redbud than ‘Forest Pansy’. Developed by NC State University, it has been trialed in our summer sun and resists leaf scorch due to the inclusion of Cercis texensis in its breeding. ‘Merlot’ retains the purple leaf color better than ‘Forest pansy’, though some greening is to be expected as the season progresses. (H 12-15’ W 15-18’, full sun to part shade, Zone 6-9)
Cercis ‘Ruby Falls’
Improvement: Holds leaf color in summer
‘Ruby Falls’ is a small weeping redbud suitable as a specimen. Like ‘Merlot’, it keeps its purple leaf color and actually gets darker through summer rather than turning green, though it is still prone to leaf scorch in full sun. Ideally planted as a specimen where its leaf color can be appreciated in summer, and elegant weeping form can be appreciated in winter. (H 4-6’, W 8-10’, part shade to shade, Zone 5-9)
