Eastern Redbud Seedling
Eastern Redbud Seedling
Species: Cercis canadensis
History: Native to the eastern United States and parts of central Mexico, this tree may have once been native to southern Ontario but it is no longer found here naturally. It is still a fairly common sight since it has been widely planted as an ornamental tree due to its gorgeous profusion of pink flowers. The flowers and seeds have traditionally been eaten by indigenous peoples and people still enjoy them fresh or fried today, while some use the green twigs for seasoning.
Why We Grow It: This native tree grows well in any soil type, and puts on a show stopping bloom every spring producing millions of edible citrusy flowers. The pods it produces are edible too, and are best enjoyed when the young pods are sauteed or fried. The heart-shaped leaves add another level of appeal to the tree even when it is not flowering.
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Fresh eating, cooking, ornamental
Fruit Size:
Storage:
Harvest: July
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 5
Soil Preference: Adaptable to most soils but prefers loam or clay loam
Flowering Time: Spring - Early
Bloom Colour: Pink
Pollination Requirements: Self-pollinating, this tree will produce pods without a different Redbud tree but will produce more and better pods if one is present
Sun/Shade Requirements:
Full sun to partial shade (approx. 6-10 hours of sun daily)
General Growth Habits:
Tree reaches 6-9m tall, spreading growth habit. May be defoliated by various caterpillars.
Shipping vs. Pick Up
Shipping vs. Pick Up
CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.
Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.
Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.
Size at Purchase
Size at Purchase
Eastern Redbud seedlings are divided into the following grades:
-1 year plant - 15-40cm
There is some overlap in size since we are also taking the age of the plants into account. Some older plants may not have put on quite as much vegetative growth but will have larger root systems.
All of these heights exclude the roots since seedlings and some berries will often have a lot of root growth but relatively little vegetative growth (ex. our Shagbark Hickories seedlings are often 5-15cm above the soil but will have roots that reach 20cm+ in length).
Not all of our berries and seedlings will be available in all of these grades since growth rate can vary significantly across species and even varieties. While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth, therefore you may find conventional nursery stock larger in some instances comparatively.
Why plant small? It's best to transplant when a plant is young so it can establish its roots before it has a lot of vegetative growth. This is much less stressful on it and bareroot plants tend to catch up and even surpass larger potted ones planted at the same time, after a few years.
Orders that are cancelled last minute due to size (being "too small"), will still incur the applicable cancellation fees if the plants are true to our grading standards as per the agreement of sale when the order was placed.