I really really want a redbud!

[RyanSA]

To me, it is probably the most beautiful tree out there. I have tried getting seeds, got some locally. One took.. But it will be years.. I have cuttings that I am trying to propagate in different ways.. There is a tree about +/- 200km away, so I dunno if my airlayer would last.

 

[penumbra]

What is your hardiness zone in South Africa?

 

[RyanSA]

Here in the Karoo Part of SA, we have arid conditions. The other tree is more or less in the same, that's why I went for it.

 

[penumbra]

Here in the Karoo Part of SA, we have arid conditions. The other tree is more or less in the same, that's why I went for it.

That is not what I was asking but for your benefit Cercis canadensis, the Eastern Redbud Tree, is hardy in zones 4 through 9 and requires a winter chilling period minimum of 30 days below 50 degrees F.
You may very well have that. Or you may be talking about another Redbud tree altogether. Common names frequently lead to confusion.
I do think the Redbud is just about the worlds prettiest tree. They grow like a weed here. There are no fewer than a few thousand of them on my 8 acre plot in the Shenandoah Valley.

 

[RyanSA]

That is not what I was asking but for your benefit Cercis canadensis, the Eastern Redbud Tree, is hardy in zones 4 through 9 and requires a winter chilling period minimum of 30 days below 50 degrees F.
You may very well have that. Or you may be talking about another Redbud tree altogether. Common names frequently lead to confusion.
I do think the Redbud is just about the worlds prettiest tree. They grow like a weed here. There are no fewer than a few thousand of them on my 8 acre plot in the Shenandoah Valley.

A couple a years ago when I started, I looked for a hardiness zone, I needed to give this info to someone, South Africa doesn't have that (to my knowledge) the best I could come up with was "arid" climate conditions.. Cercis Canadensis, or the Eastern Redbud is exactly what I was referring to, I do not really know of any other tree that might be referred to as a redbud (there might be, but I don't know of any)
You are really fortunate! I think so too!

 

[rockm]

That is not what I was asking but for your benefit Cercis canadensis, the Eastern Redbud Tree, is hardy in zones 4 through 9 and requires a winter chilling period minimum of 30 days below 50 degrees F.
You may very well have that. Or you may be talking about another Redbud tree altogether. Common names frequently lead to confusion.
I do think the Redbud is just about the worlds prettiest tree. They grow like a weed here. There are no fewer than a few thousand of them on my 8 acre plot in the Shenandoah Valley.

Cercis Canadensis is very common all over Va. One of the treats of spring is seeing the purple/red flowers coming out against still bare forests here.

Don't see many as bonsai material though. I've heard they don't really adjust to being collected and they have some habits --longer internodes, larger leaves--that don't adjust to bonsai culture. That's just hearsay though, although I tend to believe it since it's so rare in bonsai...

 

[penumbra]

I do not really know of any other tree that might be referred to as a redbud

There are 4 or 5 Chinese species, one Mediterranean, one from Mexico and at least 4 different ones in the US. Also, there are more and more cultivars every day. I have I think about 5, maybe 6 of them.

 

[penumbra]

Cercis Canadensis is very common all over Va. One of the treats of spring is seeing the purple/red flowers coming out against still bare forests here.

Don't see many as bonsai material though. I've heard they don't really adjust to being collected and they have some habits --longer internodes, larger leaves--that don't adjust to bonsai culture. That's just hearsay though, although I tend to believe it since it's so rare in bonsai...

My thoughts as well. I had never even considered trying to bonsai one. but I suppose I will one day.
They are hard as hell to transplant and usually only very small ones survive the insult.

 

[rockm]

I ran across this one in a search once. It is NOT a collected tree, but from a nursery. A bit gangly and possibly a graft.

Colorado Bonsai – Cercis canadensis – “Ace of Hearts” Redbud Bonsai Update

I have added 4 new photos of the Denver Botanic Gardens (DBG) Cercis canadensis – “Ace of Hearts” Redbud Bonsai. International Bonsai Master Larry Jackel DBG Bonsai Curator is getting r…

rockymtnbonsai.com

 

[hinmo24t]

A couple a years ago when I started, I looked for a hardiness zone, I needed to give this info to someone, South Africa doesn't have that (to my knowledge) the best I could come up with was "arid" climate conditions.. Cercis Canadensis, or the Eastern Redbud is exactly what I was referring to, I do not really know of any other tree that might be referred to as a redbud (there might be, but I don't know of any)
You are really fortunate! I think so too!

ya learn something every day, for pnumbo and i in this case it seems, they dont have categorized zones there. big fan of JBay and skelaton bay namibia surf!!! yew

Horticultural Zones. South Africa does not have widely recognised horticultural zones as does the United States of America. These zones are provided as a guide and exceptions do occur, e.g. isolated frost pockets in Zone 1 and frost free areas in Zones 4 and 5 do occur.

 

[0soyoung]

But people know the minimum average temperatures and have mapped USDA zones for South Africa as well as the rest of the world. Hardiness zones there range from 8 to 11.

 

[SeanS]

But people know the minimum average temperatures and have mapped USDA zones for South Africa as well as the rest of the world. Hardiness zones there range from 8 to 11.

This is the site I used to figure out my zone (Johannesburg ZA) and it’s been pretty accurate.

 

[RyanSA]

This is the site I used to figure out my zone (Johannesburg ZA) and it’s been pretty accurate.

Cool! Thank you! Now I can update my profile!

 

[Lost2301]

I ran across this one in a search once. It is NOT a collected tree, but from a nursery. A bit gangly and possibly a graft.

Colorado Bonsai – Cercis canadensis – “Ace of Hearts” Redbud Bonsai Update

I have added 4 new photos of the Denver Botanic Gardens (DBG) Cercis canadensis – “Ace of Hearts” Redbud Bonsai. International Bonsai Master Larry Jackel DBG Bonsai Curator is getting r…

rockymtnbonsai.com

I added some more photos of this tree on my website. It is much larger and way more filled out. Here are couple of photos, I just took them looking down on the tree. Ace Of Hearts I have another Redbud on my site in more of an artistic style, it has huge leaves which I think look really great. Artistic Style Redud

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Nice, these are one of my favorite trees, especially this time of year. I have a volunteer in the back yard that I have been eying...may pot it now while it’s still young and see if it can do ok in a pot. Always wanted to grow a large one as bonsai.

 

[penumbra]

Very difficult tree to transplant from the wild unless it is a seedling. At least this is true in my area and in the soil here. The trunk comes up from a taproot that can run horizontally for several feet before branching into fibrous roots. We live on 8+ acres with literally thousand of redbuds. Maybe this is why I never considered them as bonsai material, though leaves are quite large. They also have a tendency to throw a branch here and there like birch trees. I collect cultivars too. My favorite new one is Alley Cat, a variegated leaf with white splotches. They should start blooming in about a week, possibly two weeks.
Maybe I should be scouting for one that might make it to a pot some day.

 

[Lost2301]

Try cutting the tap root on any nursery stock tree and put it back in its nursery pot for a couple more years. Let it develop more lateral roots before trying to get it into a Bonsai pot. I wonder if you could do that on a volunteer tree, might not hurt to try just cutting the tap root only if you can?

 

[penumbra]

Try cutting the tap root on any nursery stock tree and put it back in its nursery pot for a couple more years. Let it develop more lateral roots before trying to get it into a Bonsai pot. I wonder if you could do that on a volunteer tree, might not hurt to try just cutting the tap root only if you can?

Many years ago, maybe 35 or so, I did dig a few wild redbuds in the 6 to 7 foot range. On my private property, I spade cut the roots, making sure to cut the tap root which always seem to run askance, prior to flower bud break ( which is now in my area). I dug the trees the following year in late winter, again before bud break.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Cool!

I actually picked up a couple small redbuds last year and threw these into pots to see how they’d do out west. So far so good, larger leaf size than I’d want down the line, yet it will take a number of years for these to trunk out. Presently 3/8 now.

Based upon these comments, I’ll check the roots next week and trim as needed, if they survive this, I’ll toss one in the landscape this fall to trunk out and see if I can dig it up safely in a couple years!

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

posted reply on a separate thread

Eastern Redbud Field test - Root work

Root work Field test on 2 small Eastern Redbuds Ok, I finally dug the 3 small Redbuds from last year out of cold storage. I received each from a TN nursery. After emptying two out of the pot, I recalled cutting the taproots off of each when I planted them up in pots.... 2 were in Boon mix...

www.bonsainut.com