Redbuds are a spring favorite with their bright pink blooms that gracefully line the tree's limbs before the heart-shaped leaves appear.  Dr. Michael Dirr calls them "a breath of fresh air after a long winter." This native is frequently found as a smaller understory tree in mixed forests in the wild and is quite evident along highway edges in the spring.  It grows well in full sun to light shade and prefers moist, well-drained, deep soils.

  

Many new varieties have become available in recent years, and we are carrying quite a few of them.  'Forest Pansy' has been the standard for redbuds with red leaves, but this year we will also have a new red-leafed one called 'Burgundy Hearts'. It is supposed to retain it's red leaf color throughout the summer, rather than turning a bronzy green. It is also known for its resistance to summer leaf scorch.  'Lavender Twist' is a weeping, green-leafed form with contorted branches that form an arching umbrella shape.  'Silver Cloud', another weeping Redbud, has green leaves with patches of white variegation and is best grown in some shade.  It should never be allowed to dry out in summer, and will probably be a smaller tree than other redbuds, but will be very showy in the spring. If you like a deeper red-pink flower try 'Appalacia Red', which is already  a stand-out in our Garden Center this spring.

Last year was a banner year for crabgrass; and because crabgrass is an annual grass that comes up from seed produced the previous year, it means there are millions of seeds just waiting to spring to life in your lawn as soon as the ground warms up. The best course of action is to prevent the seed from germinating by applying a pre-emergent Herbicide such as Ferti-lome Crabgrass Preventer + Lawn Food.  This also provides a slow-release fertilizer for your lawn and must be applied BEFORE the crabgrass seed germinates, usually up until about Mother's Day.  You will not be able to sow grass seed in treated areas for 8 weeks, because it, too, will not germinate.