Northern Herald Redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Pink Trim’)

One of the most cold-hardy Redbuds on the market, released by NDSU from a mature Eastern Redbud growing in central South Dakota. The Northern Herald® Redbud Tree (Cercis canadensis ‘Pink Trim’) handles arctic zone 3 planting zones and frigid winter chill with ease! Allowing you to kick off the spring flowering season with an explosion of magenta pink earlier than other flowering ornamental trees!

Resembling their Pea family relations, the cute little magenta buds open to fluorescent lavender-pink blossoms that appear in profusion right along every stem. The flowers fade to pink blooms that are born in clusters all along the silvery-colored stems creating a lovely display. Early emerging pollinators and early arriving hummingbirds seek out these blooms for a vital nectar resource! Late spring brings a flourish of heart-shaped foliage in lush green to round out the rest of the growing season!

Turning darker green through summer, the leathery leaves only look delicate but are wind and heat-resistant! Offering a soothing yellow flush of fall color before dropping to expose the few seedpods that birds love!

Northern Herald® Redbud is incredibly cold-hardy throughout the Northern USDA growing zones 3 and up to warmer, more temperate zone 8. Growing to a tidy 15-20 feet in height and width, the canopy of these trees is upright and can be trained into any size needed to best suit your landscape with just a bit of pruning from an early age. These are often multi-stemmed shrubby trees and sometimes trained into single-trunked forms depending on what you are looking for in your individual garden style.

Planting and Application:

Northern Herald® is of course most valued for its vibrant pink spring display and nectar source for pollinators! Use this for early spring color and interest in front yard Specimen plantings and anchoring your home’s foundation and front lawn focal point berms. You really want the entire neighborhood to gasp at the shocking color so early in the season!

However, if you’d rather, you can keep these Redbud Trees display all to yourself by using Northern Herald® as a fantastic shade and accent tree in your backyard seating areas or garden bench accents! Plant one outside a window you frequently pass by to enjoy watching winter give way to spring!

Create bird and butterfly-friendly groupings that are sun-loving naturalized-looking groupings, by planting in odd numbers. Try mixing and matching with other Redbuds that bloom later in the spring for a longer-lasting display! Also adapted to partial shade, employ Northern Herald® in the understory and dappled shade of larger trees along the back tree line for a pretty touch of wilderness. The airy branching and lovely foliage accents any style garden!

• The Most Cold-Hardy Redbud Variety!
• Bright Pink Flowers in Early Spring Fade to Silvery Pink
• Colorful Foliage All Growing Season
• Attracts Butterflies, Bees & Hummingbirds
• Produces Fewer Seedpods Than Other Redbuds
• Specimen, Shade, Accents & Burst of Early Spring Color!

Tips for Care:

Redbud trees are wonderfully easy to grow and low maintenance! Thriving in full sun and partial shade locations, appreciating a touch of afternoon shade when planted in the hottest of their favored growing zones. Plant deciduous Redbud trees in well-drained, enriched soil. Give them plenty of regular water, especially when young and in drier climates. Try to situate these trees away from anywhere cold air may collect and in a protected location in cooler climates to avoid a late frost from nipping back your flower buds.

Give Redbuds a 3-4 inch layer of mulch or arborist wood chips, spread to 3 feet outside of the canopy of the tree. Prune in late winter to prune out any winter dieback in early spring but then perform the majority of pruning right after the flowers fade. Be patient with young trees and small trees. Oftentimes, they are slow to send out leaves in spring, so give them time.

• Full Sun & Partial Shade
• Enriched Well-Drained Soil
• Appreciates Mulched Beds
• Regular Moisture Until Established
• Prune After Flowering

Northern Herald® Redbud Tree is just what the doctor ordered for an injection of brilliant color and the first sign of spring!