Flame Thrower Redbud (Cercis canadensis NC2016-2′)

• People’s Choice Award Winner
• Outstanding Early Spring Flower Display on Bare Branches
• Pea-Shaped Flowers are Reddish-Purple
• New Heart-Shaped Foliage Emerges Strong Burgundy Red
• Foliage Matures to Vivid Chartreuse, Red-Orange, Orange-Yellow and Green
• Each Leaf Color is Different on Every Branch
• Incredibly Showy Canopy
• Compact Ornamental Tree
• Wonderful Accent, or Shade Tree for Small Spaces
• Modern Cultivar of a Native Tree
• Fetching Semi-Pendulous Branch Structure
• Four Seasons of Interest
• Disease-Resistant
• Displays Minimal Leaf Scorch
• Widely Adapted
• Easy to Grow

This “gotta have it” ornamental Redbud tree hits the bulls-eye. These easy care trees take aim and score colorful, high-style points.

Flame Thrower Redbud (Cercis canadensis NC2016-2) delivers a shot of color that keeps coming throughout the entire growing season. Fire up your landscape design with these compact, well-balanced trees.

This ornate ornamental tree is an improved cultivar of native Redbud. It’s a perfect fit in small yards, and delivers maximum “fire power” all year-long.

Start your spring off right with Flame Thrower Redbud. Keep your eye on the bare branches for swollen buds that hit big. Pea-shaped, pink flowers cover all the wood, even the trunk!

This incendiary flower lasts for several weeks. People in your neighborhood will ask you about this special modern tree!

Use one with pride in your front yard foundation planting. Just understand that you’ll want more than one, once you see the amazing foliage display that follows the flowers.

Dramatically dark burgundy leaves emerge once the flowers have passed. As the leaves age, they turn a hot mix of yellow, orange, lime green and red.

The tree’s canopy changes from week to week in a never-ending color explosion. Those eye-catching leaves hang from long petioles and drift and move in the wind!

How to Use Flame Thrower Redbud in the Landscape

Count on this tree to become the focal point of your landscape. Front yard, side yard, backyardyou’ll find many different places to use a Flame Thrower.

Complete the look with effective, easy-care choices of small shrubs and blooming perennials. Choose a range of complementary colors that pick up on the many hues of the bold foliage.

People will notice these trees, so give them a prominent position in your foundation planting. If you have a picture window, this is the tree to use in front of it. Cozy up indoors to savor the early spring blossoms.

Use one 20 feet away from the corner of your home. Or, plant two as lawn trees on either side of a symmetrical front walk.

Plant them in a long row that runs along the street. They’ll fit well under utility wires! You may have the space to use them along the length of your fence line or a wider side yard to define your property.

Or, create a personal space in your backyard. These “destination zones” are worth their weight in gold.

Include one on the southwest side of a children’s outdoor play structure to provide much-needed shade. Your child will forever be fascinated by the ever-changing foliage color display.

Decorate a corner by the shed to help hide the garbage cans. Add some cute seating in front of it, with a low-slung outdoor table to hold your pitcher of margaritas.

Plant an informal grouping of three trees loosely spaced 30 to 40 feet apart. Place a hammock stand or two; or add a fire ring and a circle of tree stumps in between trees.

You’ll love your new garden feature! Flame Thrower is a very versatile tree that will work just about anywhere. Bump up the interest wherever you place it.

Use a row of them behind your patio seating as an incredible “living wall”. You’ll love the privacy!

They also make beautiful, multi-colored backdrops to perennial gardens. Try adding them in front of existing windbreaks to fire up the visual interest.

Flame Thrower Redbud brings butterflies and beneficial pollinators to visit. They appreciate the early nectar resource.

Why not make your trees work for you? Add near your Victory Garden or backyard orchard. They easily hide the more utilitarian areas of those hard-working kitchen gardens.

Tips for Care

Redbud trees require well-drained soil, but can adapt well to many different types of soil.

Be sure to include a pack of Nature Hills Root Booster in your order. It will help your tree access water and micronutrients over its entire lifespan.

For the best leaf color and maximum bloom, full sun is best. However, this plant can grow in part shade, too.

Ensure you provide a regular schedule of water, if you don’t get adequate rainfall. Adding a three-inch layer of mulch on top of the root system will cut down on surface evaporation. Please pull the mulch away from touching the trunk.

It may take some time for your new Redbud to fully leaf out in spring. Be patient with your young trees. Don’t worry, those multi-colored leaves are well worth the wait!

Can be grown as a smaller single stem tree form by trimming lower limbs back to the main trunk. Leave as-is to create a low branched or multiple stem shrub form plant for screening or backdrop for your mixed border.