The Redbud Along With The Weeping Atlas Cedar Make A Great Tree Combo
The
Redbud is a very popular tree.
This plant family represents beautiful blooms
in the springtime and colorful autumn leaves
when cooler weather arrives.
Two unique
characteristics of this family are the different
tones in the blossoms as well as some of
their dynamite fall color. Six of my favorite
varieties come to mind and will grown well in zones
four through nine. They love full sun but
will also take a little shade. The six different
varieties are...
- Eastern - pink blossoms
- Eastern Whitebud - white
- Oklahoma - fuchsia
- Lavender Twist or Covey - pink- purple
- Royal - white
- Forest Pansy - deep purple
There are many pictures for you to see on
the Internet of the beautiful blossoms. I wanted
to show you a little different perspective in the
leaves. Two of my favorite varieties are the
Covey or Lavender Twist, and Cascading Heart.
Each tree specimen has a distinctive shaped
leaf structure. The pictures below were taken
at Twin Bridge Nursery here in Greenville, South
Carolina. We have many wonderful nurseries in our
area and Twin Bridge is one of the best.
Great service but more importantly,
superb quality of trees, shrubs, and flowers.
The
Covey or Lavender Twist has
gorgeous fuchsia or pine color arriving in
late April early May. The Lavender will
do well in zones five through nine and
requires average watering. The leaves
are a bright green and tightly curled.
This Redbud grows at an average rate.
I love putting this tree in front of a
group of evergreen trees. The Covey will
grow anywhere six to ten feet high and the
same width. The
Loropetalum looks wonderful next to any Redbud.
For awhile in the past the Redbud had a disease
and many died off. It is best to prune these
trees after their springtime bloom. Growers are
producing excellent trees every year and improving
in prevention of disease. Any one of these
varieties make a spectacular focal point in
your front or backyard.
The
Cascading Heart or Ace of Hearts
is similar to the Covey. The Cascading
Heart grows well in zones four through nine. I love
this particular tree as each leaf looks like a heart and
are clustered together.
A truly beautiful
smaller tree with the the vibrant purple - pink
flowers arriving in April. The growers are producing
more of the Coveys and Cascading Hearts as
they have become a hot commodity. To me, the leaf
structure is a in a perfect natural shape of the heart. I
also love the defined veins in each leaf. Great specimen.
The
Weeping Atlas Cedar is a great accent in a garden
along with the Redbud. It is an evergreen and does well
in zones six through eight and possibly the upper half of zone nine.
The soft needle like leaves are spaced so the
branches can show their unique curves and twists.
The Weeping Atlas Cedar will grow ten to fifteen
feet high and six to nine or ten feet wide.
A wonderful tree to plant in an open area and
also be part of a focal point. If I am designing
a large landscape area, I like to suggest putting
a weeping Redbud in one area and a Weeping
Atlas Cedar another area.
I try and balance out the bed with both of these trees being a duel
focal point. Notice the blue and teal color tones
of the Atlas. Plant some evergreens throughout
the bed with these trees and you will have a ray
of color all year long. An alternative if the Weeping
Atlas Cedar doesn't grow in your area is a
Weeping
White Spruce. The Weeping Spruce does great growing
in zones two through seven.
This gallery page gives you a little information as
well as visual of the different leaf structures
in a couple different Redbud trees. The Weeping
Atlas Cedar is a bonus if you plant both specimens
in a landscape garden or separately on your property.
