Interesting! Thanks, Ron. 3 questions: 1. Should I plant the seedling in the ground now? ---or; 2. Should I let it grow for a while in its pot? 3. If Yes to #2, for how long? Advice for overwintering this youngster, in pot or ground, is welcome---as is Cercis advice in general.
Not an expert, but I have many seedlings that size growing on my property so I would say put in ground now, keep watered lightly for at least a week if soil is dry just to give it a good start and it will most likely do very well next Spring! Good luck!
Planted seedling about a week ago amongst wildflowers in a small front yard bed. (Bed located well away from house and clear of any overhanging neighbors.) Tall flowers provide a bit of shade in the oven-set-to-broil conditions of this summer's (currently D3, Extreme) drought. Water and pep talk daily. So far, so good. Thank you for your response! I am cheered, both by your encouragement and by my brave and tiny tree. I hope I may post a photo of it here when, someday, it blooms.
I am right there with you in this drought…northern VA…. and the heat! If it were just dry, plants could deal with it but when temps remain way above average for months that is disastrous! My fingers are crossed for your little redbud! Keep going with water and pep talks! The only real threat to little redbud seedlings are rabbits and deer….they are super hardy trees! Looking forward to seeing pics of those blossoms!
Quite different from the usual sultry, moist Ohio summers---90 degrees with humidity to match, thunderstorms/tornado warnings every couple of days. This prolonged oven atmosphere is disastrous even for tough native plants. My heart goes out to farmers, esp those in SE Ohio, whose crops and hopes have dried to a crisp. Much like my yellowed yards. Have not mowed for weeks...in a 'normal' year I would do so every few days. Now they crunch underfoot. In March I had to have my old sugar maple taken down. Its shading presence is sadly missed every day. Given the above factors, I was surprised and enchanted to discover the little redbud happily growing in the semi-groomed back yard. Hardy indeed! I suspect it is an offspring from a neighbor's tree, visible (and admired) from my back window. I further suspect that it is an example of the 'Plant Distribution System', where leafy visitors miraculously materialize seemingly out of nowhere. I have gorgeous heavenly-scented Ratibida, daisies, 6 foot tall mulleins, and a now-gigantic hare's-foot fern, all acquired this way. And maybe, just maybe, the system manager sent the youngster along to replace the maple. Kinda eerie, really. I had mused over what tree or shrub might do well in its spot...and redbud was at the top of the list. Nature's way of saying Yep, right decision, here you go---now get with it!
