This was a 5 foot tree 'Forest Pansy' that "died" last winter so I dug it up and threw it in the neighbor's brush pile. About a month later I saw some new growth budding out so I grabbed it and potted it. Lots of growth but wondering if I should choose a leader and stake it or let it grow as is. Any ideas?
This message was edited Aug 20, 2008 9:59 AM
I have a few Forest Pansy's also, which I like very much.
But one of the largest (maybe 12-foot tall) just abruptly died this spring.
It had plenty of flower buds, but they never opened and it never leafed out.
No sign of problem that I recall last fall.
I haven't gotten around to pulling up the carcass yet.
Given your experience, maybe I'd better leave it in the ground for another season?
Do you have a clue what killed yours?
My other red buds are all fine.
I certainly don't consider them fussy growers.
I have no idea why this one died. It was a new plant though. Just put in the ground last fall.
Do you have 'Silver Cloud'? That's what I replaced it with.
Forest Pansy redbud can be finicky, but as you've found out, tougher than many think. They don't do well where winter temps are consistently colder than 0 degrees. In your case, depending how far you are from the lake, or how close to the city (both warmer microclimates), it probably didn't get settled in properly before the onset of winter, so the top growth died, but the roots were fine. I would leave the sprouts so that you get a fuller, multi-trunk tree, but of course this is a matter of personal taste/preference. Be sure to plant it where it gets afternoon shade. Treat it like a Japanese maple. Redbuds are an understory tree in the wild, so they don't like to bake in hot afternoon sun. Good luck.
Dybbuk, my Silver Cloud was very finicky as a young plant.
It kept putting out braches which would die off.
I wasn't sure it would ever develop a leader of any sort.
The leaves looked more like they were sick than variegated.
But it's now beginning to do much better.
It has a main trunk and is about 4 feet tall.
It's probably 7 or 8 years old,
so you can see it took a while to get going.
But the variegation is finally beginning to look nice.
My 'Silver Cloud' was a mess when I got it. It was a 5' tree shipped in a 3' box. They bent it in half to fit it in. Then they chose to use shipping tape to wrap the tree. Most of the leaves were torn off when I removed it. The variegation was extreme. Many leaves almost entirely white. I reshaped it and staked it and it has come along very nicely. I just hope it survives the first winter. I think it's going to be a winner....
dybbuk - To answer your first question, I guess it depends on the look you're going for. You could choose 1 leader, & cut the other branches off, to make a "standard" - one-trunk tree. Or, you could leave more & make it multi-trunked. I like both forms, just depends on where you'd plant it. Samantha
Thanks for the input. I think I'm going to go for the multi-trunk look. Might be an interested contrast to all my standards.
