Eastern Redbud Tree in cool climate?

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anastatia Vancouver, WA(Zone 8a) Aug 31, 2005

I have read conflicting info re: Eastern redbud tree hardiness. I am going to give my son in Bend, Oregon, zone 5a a tree for his birthday next week. The Eastern RB was my choice after reading an old article I clipped from local paper. But some online sites say not lower then 6. Any of you cool climaters w/ this tree?

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NjMcMullen Mount Pleasant, MI(Zone 5b) Aug 31, 2005

Well, I will tell you that in my zone the trees are abundant down town.... I tried one this year but it failed to leaf out..(lots of growth from the root stock).

Maybe if he is in a protected area?

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annabelle15 Niles, MI(Zone 5a) Sep 04, 2005

Same here, I'm zone 5 and my redbuds and all of the neighborhood take our winters great.

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anastatia Vancouver, WA(Zone 8a) Sep 04, 2005

well then, he is getting a redbud for his b'day next week! Thanks for the info.

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StarhillForest Illinois, IL(Zone 5b) Sep 07, 2005

Be careful where you buy it. Redbuds are notorious for being provenance sensitive. That basically means that if your redbud's ancestral line originally came from a southern seed source you might have problems in zone 5. However, if you get a redbud grown from original wild ancestors in, say, Illinois or Iowa, it should do OK. The nursery location doesn't matter, but the original source (provenance) does.

Guy S.

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anastatia Vancouver, WA(Zone 8a) Sep 07, 2005

A reputable garden center could tell me of the trees lineage?

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Equilibrium Sep 08, 2005

"A reputable garden center could tell me of the trees lineage?"

Yes. a reputable nursery will let you know. You might want to come right out and ask them where they are growing their Redbuds. If they're coming out of Tennessee or Kentucky or any of those southeastern states where they seem to have a lot of tree farms, odds are you might not have the greatest luck. I am pretty bold about asking where the plant was grown that I want to buy. I've lost too much money to plants that can't take my zone because they are being trucked in from the south.

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kneff Dearborn, MI(Zone 5b) Sep 08, 2005

I agree with Equilibrium, and have found this advice also applies to butterfly bushes. Seedlings grown in my yard are made of cast iron; those from the nursery may be root hardy at best. We had a hard winter here three years ago, and I lost a beautiful redbud which had been planted about a year prior. Two others in the area that had come up from seed had no problems. If you can't get a guarantee that a tree you are interested in is northern-grown, I wouldn't buy it.

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anastatia Vancouver, WA(Zone 8a) Sep 08, 2005

I had no idea about the place of origin. this is a valuable bit of info esp. considering what a tree costs. many thanks.

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