Cercis Canadensis Carolina Sweetheart Redbud

Cercis Canadensis Carolina Sweetheart
RHS AGM winning Cercis Canadensis Carolina Sweetheart is a small deciduous tree with heart-shaped, variegated leaves and pink flowers. It’s a good choice for medium to large wildlife-friendly gardens.

Cercis Canadensis is commonly known as the North American Redbud. It was introduced to Europe from America in the 1730s but the cultivar Carolina Sweetheart was developed much later in California and is noted for its variegated leaves. The leaves are deciduous so they will fall from the rounded crown in winter and grow back in the spring. The variegated leaves are heart-shaped emerging red before turning green with a creamy white edge in summer. Before any foliage appears small pale pink flowers cover the bare branches and attract beneficial pollinators.

This is a lovely statement tree that is rightly popular.

Height and Spread of Cercis Canadensis Carolina Sweetheart
Redbud Carolina Sweetheart will reach a maximum height of 9 metres and the same in spread over 20 years

How Hardy is Cercis Canadensis Carolina Sweetheart
This is a hardy small tree that can withstand UK winters if it is placed in a sheltered spot with free-draining soil. Once established it can take some drought.

How To Use Cercis Canadensis Carolina Sweetheart
Redbud Carolina Sweetheart is a beautiful statement tree that brightens a border and brings interest from its pretty flowers in spring and its heart-shaped foliage until the first frosts. It suits the back of a sunny border or a warm spot in the lawn.

The warm colours of this versatile small tree make it suitable for a cottage garden planting scheme and its architectural form and foliage suit a modern courtyard.

How to Care for Cercis Canadensis Carolina Sweetheart
Choose a sunny sheltered spot for Redbud Carolina Sweetheart as its flowers best in the warmth and harsh freezing winds can damage emerging foliage. It likes rich fertile soil of any type, so add plenty of well-rotted manure or compost to the planting hole and mulch every year, watering well until established.

There’s no need to prune this tree as the crown grows in a rounded shape, but you can cut out crossed or damaged branches in winter or trim it back to reduce the size.