Martie, we grow 'Thundercloud' here in Mystic & have not had a problem. It's only been in the ground 3 seasons though. Prior to moving here, we lived in Manchester, NH & also had a 'Thundercloud'. No problems there either.

We planted one here because of how much we enjoyed the tree in our previous landscaping. The only negative I can think of is that the flowers last only 4-5 days...sure is pretty though against the emerging dark foliage. The tree is a nice size for a small lot, grows reasonably quickly, and has been trouble free, for us.

Forest Pansy Eastern Redbud perhaps? I just put one in and I think we'll be very happy with it.

Patty

Here is a link that might be useful: forest pansy

Patty hit on my second choice so my fav nursery client will be pulling one of each for me to go see on Monday. I'm lucking out as he has 4"ers of each!! Gotta love the occasional "instant" vision :-)

Thanks!

Martie

martie, before i got our ppl leaf plum (6-7 yrs ago?) i thought i had heard that they were short lived and i asked the mahoney's honcho and he shrugged and said their had been there for 25 plus yrs. Mine is fine and healthy. HOWEVER, the 2 big shrub forms that we have- of this plant-
are NOT happy/near death like the others they are replacing.
what is the fungus you've heard of, plse? i thought our previous loss was due to fireblight, but i don't know about our current problem.

i do not think cercis forest pansy -would have the visual presence/mass of the ppl leaf plum. they're not super exp. so why not give the plum a shot? best, mindy

I have also heard they are short-lived. I'm not sure if I'd rely on the opinion of someone who is trying to sell you one unless you are sure they are absolutely trustworthy.

The original fungus message was from a GWer (highly trusted) in Canada. I then heard about it from my brother in Ohio who described it as "en masse scale". No one in New England seems to know what these folks are talking about but they both described the same thing.

As for long living, at this point it's relative. This is a new park we're creating and though I'd love for everything to last forever, that ain't happening :-) I keep telling Rich and my son that the only thing permanent is the walkways -- everything else can be replaced if it doesn't work.

I agree with Mindy that the Cercis won't be as outstanding as the Prunus, but it is a good alternative as the tree's purpose will be for foliage coloration effect and wind blockage.

Jo and everyone else who's serious about quality: You've gotta come up and meet the guys at Sugarloaf Nurseries in Sunderland, MA. Two of the brightest, smartest, most honest nurserymen I've met in a long, long time. They just went to retail this year after doing wholesale to landscapers and small nurseries for 5 or so years. We're lucky they did!! Their materials come from highly respected New England farms and most of it they grow on. Imagine at least 3 acres of every kind of shrub and tree imaginable...... My idea of landscape plant supplier heaven is in Sunderland :-)

Martie

Martie, I'm resurrecting this message because I've been rethinking a couple of areas of my garden and have decided I need to plant a few small trees for shading and screening purposes. Did you end up getting the Thundercloud plum? Would you or anyone else suggest this as a patio tree?

One of these days when I go on one of my nursery road trips I'll have to check out Sugarloaf.

Sue

Sue: Get to Sugarloaf and email me when you go -- I'm on the way .... 12" pots of daylilies appeared for $14.99 this week :-)

No, I didn't get the Thundercloud as it would've shaded an area that I now want to stay full sun. It will probably end up in a new area we'll be building in a few years. I still love the plant.

Instead, went back to basics and put in a Prunus x cistena. I've always loved sand cherries and it's perfect for this spot. Provides the right punch but not the shade.

Martie

Sue, we've got this tree & really like it. So much so that we planted one in our new garden here after growing one in NH for a decade. My only complaint is that the flowers last for only 3-5 days. It also seems to be a reasonably fast growing tree. As for being a good candidate as a patio tree...the flowers are small & don't make a mess when they fall so that's a positive over many blooming trees. It also looses its leaves about the same time as the maples so you won't be out having to clean the patio in late December.

Sue, Prunus 'Thundercloud' is the tree I have in the front yard (in the bed to the left of the front door) that the pink pot was under. It gets rather large over time. It was planted about 10 years ago. I love it for it's foliage color, but the flowers are short-lived as someone else mentioned.

BTW Martie, I've heard of the fungus b/c my neighbor had it on his ppl leaf plum and they cut the branches back hard and it came back. We never got it on ours luckily.

Yeah, I'm a sucker for purple foliage and I already have a Cercis 'Forest Pansy'. I actually have room for three reasonably small trees(15'-25') in various spots of the garden and would like this to be one of them. However, if you do a search on the tree forum you won't find many fans of this tree. It's called everything from disease prone to short lived to overplanted. The overplanted doesn't bother me-it certainly isn't common in my neighborhood, but I don't want to plant something that will need to be removed just as it's starting to get some size. It's good to hear positive endorsements from people I trust as gardeners and who are in basically the same area. Now to find one...

Martie, I've been training my Prunus cistena into a very small tree. I just recently placed a bench under it and created a little shaded seating area.

Sue