It's a great feeling when you find yourself in the right place at the right time.  This happened to me when I was younger and was tooling around in my first new car on the roads near Monticello in Charlottesville.  It was early spring and the woods were just leafing out, but enough so that the bright air almost had a green tint to it.  Under the canopy of mature trees, Dogwoods and Redbuds were at their absolute peak.  If I had been there the day before or the day after, the scene would not have been the same.  It was on this trip that I learned to love Redbuds.

     Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is one of our showiest native trees and it can be found from New Jersey, south to Florida, west to Missouri and down into Mexico.  In Tidewater flowering normally begins late March and they are a very showy purplish pink.  It is not uncommon for the numerous small blossoms to cover the trunk as well as the stems, and they always appear before the leaves come out.  The blooms resemble the flowers on peas, and as a matter of fact the tree is indeed a legume and can produce small pods in the fall.  Redbuds will usually get to be about 20-30' tall by slightly wider and have wide graceful branches. Normally grown as a small tree with a single trunk, they can also grow as a large multi-stemmed shrub.  The leaves are heart shaped and can turn a nice yellow in the fall.  Full to partial sun is preferred and it is adaptable to just about any soil but ones that stay constantly wet.

     There are several varieties of Eastern Redbud, and the one I have in my own yard is 'Forest Pansy'.  I own this not because of its flowers, but for the foliage which emerges a glowing purple red and holds that color well until the summer heat turns it more of a purple-green.  There is also an unusual form found under two names, 'Covey' or 'Lavender Twist'.  It has the same flowers, but they grow on contorted, weeping stems and branches, and it stays less than 10' tall.  'Appalachian Red' is a newer variety that has slightly more red blooms, and 'Alba' is a naturally occurring variation with white flowers. We started carrying another new variety last fall that is called 'Hearts of Gold', and as might be expected it has golden yellow leaves all during the growing season.  'Ace of Hearts' grows about half the size of the other Redbuds and is overall a more compact plant, but it also has its leaves arranged in unique orderly rows. 

     Redbuds that are in the extreme southwestern part of their range (Texas and Mexico) have developed into subspecies.  The main difference is that they don't get as tall and have thicker glossier leaves.  These leaves help the trees withstand a drier, hotter climate, and if you have a spot that tends to stay dry, you may want to seek out one of these varieties.  'Texas White' has a very milky white blossom with a touch of chartreuse green at the base.  One of our favorite varieties at Smithfield Gardens is 'Oklahoma', which has flowers that are much more magenta, almost as if a regular Redbud has been electrified.  'Traveler' is dwarf weeping variety that only gets about 5' tall but can spread much farther. 

     If you would like to see these for yourself, you don't have to drive to Charlottesville; you could come to the garden center later this month and see them in full bloom.  They will be pretty; they will be at their peak; and they will look great in your yard!

Les Parks