Spring is a marvelously colorful time of year, with all the flowers and leaves unfolding as the days become warmer. And one of the brightest, boldest harbingers of spring is the redbud tree.
These showy bloomers send out flowers earlier than most other trees, and the color can last for weeks, completely covering the branches from trunk to tip.
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These trees can generally boast a good bill of health, stay fairly petite, and won’t become invasive, so you won’t be digging the roots out of your sewer pipes anytime soon.
They’re hardy down to USDA Zone 4 and up to Zone 9, and don’t need any special pruning or care.
In other words, there’s a lot to love about these plants and very little not to.
Of course, as with any plant, the redbud has its unique needs – especially if you want to enjoy the most dazzling display possible. We’ll talk about those needs and a lot more in this guide.
By the way, if you or someone you know is a budding forager, this is an excellent plant to start with.
More experienced foragers know that it’s also time to start hunting for morels when the blossoms are in bloom.
Redbud is the common name for plants in the Cercis genus, which is part of the Fabaceae family. If you know your botany, then you’ve probably realized this plant is a member of the legume family.
It’s a little difficult to see the resemblance, but once you get a good look at the fruit pods or after you taste the seeds, flowers, or young leaves, you will more clearly understand this relationship.
Examine those inflorescences close up, and you’ll notice that they look a heck of a lot like pea flowers.
Cercis canadensis, which is also known as the eastern redbud, is the one most commonly grown in the US.
This species is native to North America, with the largest wild populations clustered in an area spanning Iowa to Texas and points due east, though you can find them as far north as Canada and as far south as Mexico, and anywhere east of the Rockies.
There are three recognized varieties of eastern redbud: canadensis, texensis (Texas redbud), and mexicana (Mexican redbud).
West of the Rockies, you’ll find C. occidentalis growing in the wild, where it is native. The western redbud isn’t as hardy as the eastern species and can only be grown as far north as Zone 6.
These, and species from Europe and Asia such as Judas tree (C. siliquastrum) and Chinese redbud (C. chinensis), are cultivated all over the US in Zones 4 to 9.
These small trees form masses of pink, mauve, magenta, or red flowers in the early spring before the purple-to-green heart-shaped foliage leafs out.
Flowers form on older wood on the trunk and stems rather than new growth, which is known as cauliflory.
After the flowers fade, seed pods begin to form and mature over the summer, though some cultivars are sterile so they won’t produce any fruit pods.
The branches have a slight zig-zagging growth pattern along the internodes, and there is one C. canadensis cultivar named Zig Zag® that has exaggerated zig-zagging.
In the wild, they tend to grow in the understory beneath larger trees, and as such, they prefer partial shade or partial sun and moist soil. However, many cultivars have been bred to do well in full sun or drought conditions.
Native people like the Alabama, Cherokee, and Delaware used the roots, bark, leaves, seeds, and flowers extensively for food and medicine.
Redbuds are difficult to propagate and beginners should stick with buying a sapling or seedling at a nursery.
In addition to the following methods, it’s possible to propagate these via grafting, but it’s so unreliable and challenging that we don’t recommend it unless you’re already an expert grafter.
Propagating seed takes some work. The seeds, which appear in the fall, need to be dried, scarified, and stratified before planting.
Not feeling daunted? Head out in the fall and look for the seed pods on a mature tree. They’re long and pea-pod shaped, and they should be brown at this point.
Collect and lay the pods on a screen or hang them from a piece of string to allow them to air dry.
After a few days, remove the seeds from inside the pods. Even if you only want to grow one tree, prepare several seeds just to be safe.
One option at this point is to soak the seeds in sulfuric acid for 30 minutes. You can often find this at stores sold in the drain cleaner aisle.
Don’t forget, this is strong, poisonous stuff, so heed all safety precautions on the label. That means wearing protective gear like gloves, eye protection, and a mask.
Or you can submerge the seeds in nearly boiling water held at 180°F for about a minute.
Drain and rinse the seeds carefully if you used acid, or drain and allow the seeds to cool if you prepared them in water.
Fill a jar or resealable bag with equal parts sand and sphagnum moss and moisten it so it feels like a well-wrung-out sponge. Bury the seeds in the sand, seal, and place the bag or jar in the fridge.
Occasionally check to make sure the sand mix is moist and there’s no mold forming. If you see mold, remove the seeds and place them in fresh sand in a clean bag or jar.
After about five weeks – though it might take up to 10 weeks – you should start to see growth. The second you see growth emerging from a seed, plant it.
To do this, fill a six-inch compostable pot with potting mix. Sow one germinated seed a quarter-inch deep in each container.
Place the containers outside in a spot that receives partial sun, about six hours per day. Bring them back inside any time the temperature drops below 35°F.
Once a seedling is about six inches tall, you can plant it in the ground. It’s best to transplant either in the fall or spring, and you should avoid planting in the winter or summer.
It is possible to propagate redbuds from cuttings, but they don’t take reliably, which is why growers tend to rely on propagating seed when possible instead.
In early summer, take a few six-inch cuttings of soft, pliable wood from the tips of healthy branches. Place the cuttings in water until you get them inside and are ready to plant, which you should do right away.
When you’re ready, cut the end of each at a 45-degree angle, remove any leaves from the bottom half, and dip the cut ends in a rooting hormone.
The rooting hormone step is optional for propagating some types of plants, but it’s mandatory in this case to improve your chances of success.
Plant each cutting an inch or two deep in a six-inch pot filled with potting soil.
Place the pots on a heated mat to keep the soil at 72 to 78°F. If the soil temperature drops into the 60s, rooting success rates drop off dramatically.
The easiest way to do this is to cover them with a cloche or other type of cover and mist them daily. You can also use a humidifier.
Keep the cuttings in a place where they’ll receive six hours per day of supplemental lighting.
Electric grow lights are preferred to natural sunlight here because you can regulate the exposure, and LED bulbs won’t heat the soil or interior of the cover excessively like direct sunlight might.
Redbud trees are beloved for their striking spring blooms in shades of pink, purple, and white. Their flowering branches provide a pop of color just as winter fades away.
If you already have a redbud tree (Cercis canadensis) that you adore, you may want to propagate more from cuttings to create a cohesive look in your yard Or if a neighbor or family member has a redbud you’d love to replicate, cuttings allow you to do so easily and for free.
The good news is propagating redbuds from cuttings can absolutely be done if the right steps are taken. While it does require more patience and care than simply buying a young tree from a nursery, being able to clone your favorite redbud variety is rewarding.
In this article, we’ll walk through the step-by-step process of rooting redbud cuttings, from choosing the right cutting to transplanting into the garden. We’ll also go over some key factors that affect your chances of success when growing a redbud tree from cuttings.
What You Need to Know Before Taking Redbud Cuttings
While it’s possible to root redbud tree cuttings there are some important factors that will determine your likelihood of success
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Maturity of the tree – Cuttings taken from younger trees (less than 10 years old) will root more readily than those from older trees. Older trees tend to be less vigorous.
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Time of year – The best time to take redbud cuttings is in early summer, when the tree is actively growing. Growth hormones are high, boosting root formation.
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Cutting selection – Opt for healthy pencil-thick branches without flowers. Cuttings should be 4-6 inches long.
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Using rooting hormone – Dip cuttings in rooting hormone before planting to encourage better root development.
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Warm temperatures – Maintain temperatures of 65-75°F for best root growth. Consider a heat mat or greenhouse.
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Soil moisture – Keep cuttings consistently moist but not soggy during the rooting period.
Follow the steps below to give your redbud cuttings the best chance of successfully rooting.
How to Grow a Redbud Tree from Cuttings
Step 1: Take and Prepare Cuttings
Start by selecting a healthy, mature redbud tree that is less than 10 years old during early to mid summer. This timing gives cuttings the best chance of rooting quickly.
Identify shoots around 4-6 inches long that have no flowers or flower buds on them. The shoots should be the thickness of a pencil.
Use sterile, sharp pruners to take 4-6 inch long cuttings from the tips of the shoots. Take more cuttings than you need since not all may root successfully.
Remove the bottom leaves and nodes so you have a 2-4 inch bare stem. Make a fresh cut just below the bottom node. Dip the cut end in water to keep it hydrated.
Step 2: Apply Rooting Hormone
Before planting, dip the bare end of each cutting in rooting hormone powder or gel. Rooting hormone contains compounds that encourage root cell growth and development.
Tap off any excess hormone before planting so it doesn’t wash off into the soil. If using a gel, shake gently after dipping to prevent clumping.
Step 3: Plant in Propagation Medium
Moisten sterile potting mix and fill 3-4 inch pots with drainage holes about 2/3 full. Form a hole and insert each cutting so the bottom bare nodes are buried in the soil.
Firm the soil gently and water thoroughly until it drips from the drainage holes. Keep a dome or plastic bag over the pot to increase humidity.
Step 4: Provide Warmth
Place the pots in a bright area with indirect sunlight and temperatures between 65-75°F. Consider investing in a heat mat or placing pots in a greenhouse or hot frame to maintain ideal temperatures.
Fluctuating temperatures can lead to reduced rooting. Keeping cuttings consistently warm encourages faster initial root formation.
Step 5: Maintain Moisture
Check soil moisture daily and water when the top inch becomes dry. Avoid letting cuttings dry out or sit in soggy soil, as both hinder growth.
Misting plant leaves also boosts humidity levels for better growth. Keep humidity domes in place until cuttings are well-rooted in 2-3 months.
Step 6: Transplant Rooted Cuttings
Test for rooting by gently tugging cuttings after 8-12 weeks. If they resist pulling out of soil, they have rooted. Acclimate them for a week before transplanting into gallon pots with potting mix.
Keep transplants sheltered and moist for the remainder of the first year. They can be planted into gardens the following season once well-established.
Caring for Young Redbud Trees
With proper care, a redbud tree grown from cuttings will establish quickly. Follow these tips during the first few years after transplanting:
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Water regularly to keep soil consistently moist but not soaked.
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Apply mulch around the base to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
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Stake the trunk if needed to prevent drooping or wind damage.
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Prune only lightly in early years, removing crossed branches or water sprouts.
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Shelter from harsh sun and wind, especially in the first year after transplanting.
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Feed with a balanced fertilizer in early spring to encourage growth.
Be Patient for Successfully Growing Redbud Cuttings
Have realistic expectations when rooting redbud cuttings. It may take multiple attempts to achieve success. Using young branch cuttings, proper hormones, and ideal temperature and moisture conditions will set your cuttings up for the best chance of rooting.
With attentive care while rooting, and proper establishment care afterwards, it is absolutely possible to grow beautiful redbud trees from stem cuttings for free. Just be sure to have patience if initial attempts are unsuccessful.
Redbud Cultivars to Select
It’s an exciting period for redbuds when it comes to discovering new varieties and breeding new cultivars.
So many beautiful and unique cultivars are hitting the market, with impressive blossoms and foliage so attractive that the flowers sometimes take a backseat.
We’ll cover more of these in a future roundup. Here are just a few, to whet your appetite:
Fall is always an exciting time, with the bright foliage covering all of the many deciduous trees in the landscape.
But sometimes it might be nice to see a little of that color during the summer. That’s when you plant Flame Thrower®.
This C. canadensis cultivar has bright red and burgundy leaves during the spring and summer that turn orange and gold in the fall.
Add to that the lovely pinkish-purple blossoms in the spring, and you have a tree that is showing off for a majority of the year. It reaches about 20 feet tall once mature.
The fact that it’s extremely drought-tolerant and will perform even in partial sun just goes to show how excellent this cultivar is.
Bred by Denny Werner at North Carolina State University, you don’t even need the flowers to enjoy this tree – the leaves are stunning enough to steal the show!
Plant in Zones 5 to 9. It needs 30 days with temperatures below 50°F to produce flowers.
Add some heat to your life and purchase Flame Thrower® at Fast Growing Trees.
‘Oklahoma’ is a C. canadensis var. canadensis with texensis lineage, so it’s more heat and drought tolerant than other redbuds, perfect in Zones 6 to 10a.
The flowers are shockingly vibrant rose-red, with waxy heart-shaped leaves.
This is a larger cultivar that can stretch up to 25 feet tall, but typically stays smaller. If you’re a southern gardener dreaming of a redbud that won’t falter in your landscape, this is the one.
All eastern redbuds require 30 days with temperatures below 50°F, but ‘Oklahoma’ will often produce blooms even if it doesn’t receive a full 700 chill hours.
You can find this cultivar available at Fast Growing Trees in a variety of sizes to suit your needs.
Redbuds, as their common name would suggest, have a reputation for featuring red or pink flowers.
But this cultivar dazzles with pure-white blossoms covering a 30-foot-tall tree at maturity. It’s cold tolerant down to Zone 4 and has a compact, rounded growth habit.
To produce blossoms, this tree needs 30 days of temperatures below 50°F.
Snag one of these C. canadensis cultivars at FastGrowingTrees.com.
Managing Pests and Disease
In general, this is one of those trees that generally maintains good health so long as you grow it in the right environment. If problems do come up, here’s what you’re most likely to see:
More so than diseases or insect pests, avoiding herbivores is going to be the biggest challenge to overcome when growing redbuds.
Those animals out there seem like they’re all too eager to get a bite of your plant. Both deer and rabbits will devour young trees if given the chance.
Your best bet to protect your redbuds from both of these common pests is to surround the young trees with chicken wire.
Once your tree is tall enough that the leaves and branches are out of reach and safe from browsing, you can remove the fence.
Redbuds are generally ignored by insect pests, especially if you choose a species native to your region.
However, that seems to be changing as the dreaded emerald ash borer expands its range into more and more regions.
Regardless, healthy trees are usually able to withstand an infestation and remain healthy.
The redbud leaf roller (Fascista cercerisella) is the larva of a half-inch-wide dark brown and white moth that lives east of the Rocky Mountains.
The moth itself isn’t a threat, but the half-inch-long black and white leaf rollers will roll up redbud leaves in loose webbing, eventually killing them.
To control this pest, just pull off any rolled leaves, bag them, and dispose of them.
Sprays won’t usually work since the larvae hide in the little shelters that they’ve made. Fortunately, they don’t typically cause serious damage.
The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is an invasive pest from Asia that is rapidly invading a larger and larger area of North America.
It was first identified in southeast Michigan in 2002, and identified on the West Coast for the first time in 2022. In the intervening years, it spread through every state east of the Rockies and throughout Colorado.
There have been reports since of these pests in Montana and Wyoming.
Though they haven’t been officially confirmed at the time of this writing, this indicates that it’s possible that the bug may be found in every state throughout the continental US.
They decimate ash trees, killing hundreds of millions since they were first discovered in North America 20 years ago, but they’ve also been seen feeding on the leaves of redbuds and other species.
These beetles look like iridescent half-inch-long grasshoppers. Hand pick and drown any you see in soapy water.
If you have ash trees on your property and you spot these pests, you’ll need to start treatment right away. With redbuds, your best line of attack is to keep your tree healthy.
It’s rare that a redbud is impacted by disease, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.
Trees growing in wet soil, with poor air circulation, or those that are fed incorrectly are more likely to face issues.
Canker on redbuds is caused by fungi in the Botryosphaeria genus, and it’s the most destructive disease of the Cercis species.
At first, it shows up as little black, soft, sunken spots in the bark. Eventually, the canker spreads and girdles the stem, causing everything above the canker to die.
Fungicides aren’t extremely effective, so just prune away any diseased branches you see at the base.
If you have a severe case with lots of cankers and dying branches, you will need to just remove the tree.
Caused by the fungus Verticillium albo-atrum, vert causes the leaves to wilt even when the tree has plenty of water.
As the disease progresses, the leaves turn yellow and may form V-shaped yellow spots between the veins. Overfertilizing and wet soil creates favorable conditions for this disease.
Sadly, there is no treatment available. It’s best to remove an infected plant and dispose of it.
How to Make Cuttings From a Redbud Tree
FAQ
How do you propagate redbud cuttings?
- Select and Make a Redbud Tree Cutting. The best time to take cuttings from your redbud is in spring or early summer when the tree is in an active growing state. …
- Prepare Containers. …
- Prepare Cuttings. …
- Keep Cuttings Warm and Moist. …
- Check If Cuttings Have Roots. …
- Plant Rooted Cuttings.
Can you start a red bud tree from a branch?
Description: The simplest way to grow redbuds is to scarify seeds and plant outdoors in the fall. Cuttings are nearly impossible. Seedlings which may develop around mature trees are easily moved when very small.
What are the disadvantages of redbud trees?
Redbud Trees Are Susceptible To Pests and Diseases
However, the pests usually don’t harm the tree’s overall health. Diseases are also a problem for redbud trees. Botryosphaeria canker, Verticillium wilt, and Cercospora blight are some diseases that can affect the tree’s appearance and health.
Are redbud trees easy to grow?
Redbuds are easy-to-grow trees that don’t need a lot of care. Give them well-drained soil with even moisture, and they’ll be content. Come fall, redbud trees sport beautiful golden color. This is because the deciduous tree’s seedpods hold on through the winter.
How can I propagate a redbud tree?
To propagate a redbud tree, tip cuttings are the easiest and quickest method. Heel cuttings and root cuttings are more difficult to obtain but can also be used. Regardless of the type of cutting, it is important to keep the soil moist and give the cuttings plenty of time to root before transplanting them. Gardening 101: A Step-By-Step Guide To Growing Redbud Trees From Cuttings
Can you grow a redbud tree from cutting or seed?
Either way, growing a redbud tree from cutting or seed is free, so if you’re up for the challenge, try both and see what happens. Keep in mind that redbuds take around 3-5 years to start blooming.
How do you cut a redbud tree?
Once you have chosen the right redbud tree, you can begin gathering and preparing cuttings. The best time to take cuttings is in early spring, when the tree is actively growing. To take a cutting, you will need to: 1. Choose a healthy, vigorous branch that is about 6-12 inches long. 2. Make a clean cut just below a node. 3.
When should you take cuttings to propagate a redbud tree?
Redbud trees are in their period of rapid growth and the branches are actively forming new buds during this time of year, making it the best time to take cuttings for propagation. Taking cuttings is an easy way to propagate redbud trees.
When should you cut a redbud tree?
Select and Make a Redbud Tree Cutting The best time to take cuttings from your redbud is in spring or early summer when the tree is in an active growing state. Time it right after the flowers have stopped blooming and the leaves have begun their show. Make sure the tree is healthy, and look for lateral branches that are around four inches thick.
How long does a redbud tree take to grow?
When growing redbud trees from cuttings, it takes between 12 and 14 weeks for the cuttings to root. Once they have rooted, they can be transplanted into larger containers or planted in the ground.