A beautiful ornamental tree that is adaptable to alkaline soils. This picture is a current shot of its blooms and the best is yet to come with huge dark red leaves which turn to orange in the fall. The tree matures here in the hill country of central Texas at around 15 to 20 feet.
Nice clear pic! Thanks. Hopefully you'll add that to PF.
Here is one as the leaves emerge.
Almost has me deluding that spring is near! Great tree, nice pics.
Scott
Anybody tried this in Z5 near Chicago with success?
I live in zone 5, WA state, and have grown Red Bud, Forest Pansy in my garden with success for more than 5 years. And we have weird weather sometimes, not consisten weather. Seems like never normal whatever normal is. Where I live is desert country. We are hopefully just going out of almost 5 years of droughth. I irrigate from April to Nov. every year.
DonnaS
Hey Donna do you start that early. We don't have to here until July 5th. I always say that because the 4th of July parades are always in the rain and as soon as you get back to work it is hot summer. Though I love the rainy season in May and June.
I love it! What is the width of a full grown tree? I have a tiny back yard.
I would rather think that up in your country, a Forest Pansy would reach 25 foot high with a 30 foot girth. The Forest Pansy's around here are always a little wider then taller. Good Luck!!
I guess 10 years is considered mature more or less for trees, so mine not yet a mature size. It is probably15 feet by about 15 feet.
soferdig, yes I usually have to start irrigating in April. And I wish we had a wet season. Actually it is raining lightly right now.
DonnaS
Alas, that's way too big. At home we had a regular redbud and that's about the size of it too. Well, we can't have everything.
I wouldn't give it much of a chance making it through Iowa winters. It's hard enough getting the regular species to survive!
"Forest Pansy' is questionable here in zone 6. Maybe not so much along the river, but in the valleys. Occasionally the temps dip below 0. Beautiful tree!
I'm glad nobody told me that before I planted my two. I'm in 5b and I've had two for several years with no problems. I've got both trees on the north side of a brick house, with some wind protection. SB
I planted two C. 'Forest Pansy' last Spring. The Deer rubbed one pretty bad, but the other one was better pretected and survived undamaged. Won't know until Spring actually gets here to see how they made it through the winter. But the winter has been erratic, mostly above freezing, not a typcal zone 5 winter, so I suspect they will live, for now. What I have read is that they are hardy to zone 6 and up... I have a lot of the regular Redbud, Cercis canadensis. Volunteers seed themselves into my 'town' yard from the tree across the street. I move the seedlings to the 'country' and plant them into my acre 'ditch'. I do have magnificant multi-trunk specimen on my property that I will photograph and post when it blooms. It is very old...
I have seen Forest Pansies around here in one or two yards but never stopped to ask how much dieback they get and none are very large yet so I don't know about long term.
Hi Kevin. I pulled many seedlings of the common redbud from my mom's flower beds, (in Nichols.) That's what stops me from planting one at my house. In Columbus Junction, on the bluffs along the river, many of them bloom in the spring. Showy.
Around here, unless the redbuds are of definite northern origin, there is a "winter cleansing" every few years. Those who buy redbuds of southern origin see the tree get significant dieback. Many nursery trees come from the wrong climate. I imagine that's what will happen with Forest Pansy(it's a pansy, says so in the name!). I hope it's not true, as I would love to have one. My Redbud came from a Zone 4 nursery, so it survived well. I have also taken seedlings from old trees here that are thriving and reproducing.
I think my Mom's tree was there when they moved in, in 1957. Up the street, a friend dug one of our seedlings and planted it. There's nothing like them in the spring with that color.
Any recommended northern Illinois sources for redbuds that are container grown size, something around 5 ft or more?
Thanks Kevin. Their prices are not bad. I'll have to check them out next time I am down south. I read to call first.
I live in the Chicago area, good ole zone 5a and have a sad story to tell about this cultivar. Bought it as a small plant and it thrived for about 6 years. Grew into a beautful small tree and went through below zero weather with no problem. Then one spring I had the overhanging branches of a sheltering elm pruned back . Next year my Forest Pansy did not leaf out. I called an arborist in to diagnos the problem and he said this cultivar is always 'iffy' in our area and removing the protection of those overhead limbs tipped the scale. BooHoo!
Sympathy sob Frahn.
