Other Names:  Chinese Redbud

Description:

An early, and long blooming cultivar, with vibrant, lavender-pink flowers held tightly on bare branches in early to mid-spring, before the copper new foliage; an excellent large shrub or small ornamental tree for specimen use

Ornamental Features

Kay's Early Hope Redbud has hot pink pea-like flowers with lavender overtones along the branches from early to mid spring before the leaves. It has green deciduous foliage which emerges coppery-bronze in spring. The heart-shaped leaves turn buttery yellow in fall.

Landscape Attributes

Kay's Early Hope Redbud is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Kay's Early Hope Redbud is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Kay's Early Hope Redbud will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. To help this plant achive its best flowering performance, periodically apply a flower-boosting fertilizer from early spring through into the active growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.