Plant Profile: Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Figure 1. Eastern redbud  roots can be used to make red colored dye.
Photo credit: S.B. Johnny en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cercis_canadensis
This post is one of a series from Botany professor Nisse Goldberg's students at Jacksonville University. Student authors: Alexis Crouch, Ashley Bridell, and Christina Adams


Cercis canadensis, the eastern redbud, can be found along the eastern coast of the United States, from Florida to New Jersey, and as far west as Texas. It can handle a variety of growing conditions, and temperatures ranging from -18° F in the winter to the 90°+ F Florida summers. Redbud grows best in direct sun in the northern parts of its range, but grows happily as an understory tree in the south. It prefers moist soils and does not do particularly well in salty conditions.

The eastern redbud is an aesthetically pleasing plant, with gorgeous purple red flowers that bloom in March (Figure 1). The tree depends on bees for pollination. The fruit pod will stay on the tree when the leaves fall off in autumn. When the pea-pod shaped fruit is mature, the pod will open and the seeds can be dispersed by the wind. Songbirds such as the Caroline chickadee and the northern bobwhite enjoy the seeds. You may also see a deer visit to eat the leaves!

Unfortunately, the redbud can get dieback. Dieback is a fungus that is first seen in the leaves and branches of the plant. The fungi will slowly cause the leaves and flowers to wilt, and then the branches will start to become brittle and turn almost a black color. You can prune off dieback, but if you are not careful you can spread the fungi to other plants in your garden. Make sure to wash and sterilize your pruning shears before pruning anything else!

You can purchase this lovely tree at the following vendors: http://www.floridanativenurseries.org/plants/detail/cercis-canadensis

Works Cited:
Arbor Day Foundation. (n.d.). Redbud, eastern ceris canadensis. Retrieved from
http://www.arborday.org/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?id=6

Dickerson, James, G. (n.d.). Cercis canadensis l. eastern redbubd. Retrieved from
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/cercis/canadensis.htm

University of Texas at Austin. (n.d.). Cercis canadensis l.. Retrieved from
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CECA4

Evans, Erv. (n.d.). Cercis canadensis. Retrieved from
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/cercis_canadensis.html

Mancil, Clint. (n.d.). Cercis canadensis. Retrieved from
https://fp.auburn.edu/sfws/sfnmc/class/erb.html
GrowGirl. (n.d.). Eastern redbud (cercis canadensis l.). Retrieved from
http://www.thegrowspot.com/know/f7/all-about-eastern-redbud-cercis-canadensis-9944.html

Smithsonian Zoological Park, . "Smithsonian Zoological Park Friends of the National Zoo." Backyard Biology: Plant of the Month. Smithsonian Zoological Park, n.d. Web. 15 Nov 2011.
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/BackyardBiology/PlantoftheMonth/redbud.cfm .

Comments

Nathaniel Covert said…
Planning to plant one of these this year.
January 28, 2012 at 4:28 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Florida Native Azaleas

Image
Piedmont Azalea, Rhododendron canescens. Photo by Lilly Anderson-Messec By Lilly Anderson-Messec While growing up in North Florida, I began to recognize the arrival of spring by the boisterous show of white, pink, and fuchsia blooms of azalea shrubs. The house I grew up in had large, mature azalea hedges with a variety of different colors and forms. Every spring, my mom would bring in vases full of them and my dad loved to point out the showy shrubs as we drove through town. I suppose I assumed these plants were native, but most likely I never gave it a thought. I didn’t differentiate a native plant from a non-native one because I didn’t yet know the importance of native plants as the basis of our functioning ecosystems. I was so surprised when I learned the azaleas I was so familiar with (Rhododendron indicum) are actually transplants from Asia! They are favored by the horticultural industry for their fast, vigorous, and dense growth of evergreen leaves and large, showy blooms. Curio...
Read more

Wednesday's Wildflower:Spanish Needle

Image
Spanish Needle, Bidens Alba Submitted by Donna Bollenbach, Suncoast Chapter Biden's alba , all photos by Donna Bollenbach Nothing attracts more butterflies and bees than a simple white flower called Bidens alba . Also called Romerillo, Beggar’s Tick, Spanish Needle or Monkey’s Lice, this Florida native wildflower is the third most reliable source of nectar for pollinators in our state. There would be many starving bees and butterflies if not for the Bidens family of flowers. More so, Bidens alba and its sister plant, Bidens pilosa , are both edible and have medicinal value. Yet, many gardeners have a love/hate relationship the plant, and some even consider it a pesky weed. Why?
Read more

Paradise Tree: Beautiful and Useful

Image
"The native Paradise tree is more useful than Google, and easy to grow." And how could any blogger resist leading off with this intriguing quote from the Key West Garden Club? I am a Master Gardener and a Master Naturalist, but I only know so much; so I always check out  statistics from experts before posting information about plants. I have a beautiful Paradise tree in my yard, it came from the raffle table at my chapter's program night about six years ago.   Paradise tree                Simarouba glauca For the first six years the little tree had a perfect, closed, cone shape; but just this summer I was astounded one morning to walk out and notice that my tree had changed. The canopy had begun to open up, there were open spaces between the layers of branches. It seemed to happen overnight. Proving again that a garden is constantly in motion, which is one of the fascinating things about o...
Read more