Redbud, Cercis canadensis.

were you afraid of them ... that you couldnt step out the screen door.. lol .. dont fear your trees ....

big year for redbud in MI .. they didnt even blink at the frost/freezes we had ...

ken

Ken you never fail to make me laugh lol.

Funny this was posted now. For some reason I have really taken notice of redbuds this year as I drive around. They seem so beautiful this year. I had to double-check what they were (I thought I knew but never paid much attention to them previously) because I am now thinking of adding one.

:)
Dee

I was surprised by the Michigan location. Redbud will not flower for me. They grow perfectly fine. Go down a thousand feet in elevation and they were everywhere in full bloom last month.

Wow, that's some photo. Must be quite a sight in person!

:)
Dee

beng, what kind of bedrock is exposed there? Is it a type of limestone?

Christopher, "Redbud will not flower for me " - wondering why that would be?

@arbordave (SE MI) I assume it is because the flower buds are not cold hardy at my elevation. They either get lost over the winter or in spring freezes. They are common as dirt and bloom perfectly fine at lower elevations.

arbordave, what you're looking at is a construct -- looked like the road construction crews lined a ditch draining from the above road-area with limestone-blocks as you guessed. I assume to reduce erosion from flooding events.

beng, I was just curious since redbuds favor higher pH soils, like those found in areas where the substrate is limestone. Redbuds are not native in my local area, but they are in the counties south of me.

Christopher, around here redbuds seem to flower pretty reliably, although I have (infrequently) seen flower buds killed by low temps. Winter injury seems to be more of an issue on the vigorous shoots of younger trees rather than the flower buds. I'm assuming it gets as cold or colder here than at your location, so it surprises me that yours don't flower.

It is a bit perplexing because I feel certain it gets colder in Michigan than at my 4000' elevation and for longer periods of time. You don't even see redbud in the forest high up. No flowers, no seeds. Down low they are as weedy as can be.

arbordave, redbuds are able to survive almost any soil or moisture level -- here's some on the other side of the highway roadcut that slopes up -- that is sun-baked acidic sandstone/gravel they're growing on (those are dead ash trees above). I have two growing well on my acidic shale-sandstone parking "hill" that has virtually no soil. I just had to keep them watered the first yr to get established.

It's interesting that even though redbuds generally favor calcareous soils they seem to germinate and grow with ease on relatively acidic sites. We have lots of volunteers along a woods edge in one of our parks where the soil is somewhat acidic (I've transplanted several of them to new homes).

According to this Forest Service Redbud page"Redbud is tolerant of a wide pH range but grows best where the pH is above 7.5. It is prevalent on limestone outcrops and on alkaline soils derived from them ", and "It is normally more abundant on south-facing slopes where sunlight is more intense and there is less plant competition "

Here's one just leafing-out on my shale "parking hill" planted just a couple years ago -- had to dig a hole in the rocks with a digging iron to plant it. Had a few blooms on it earlier.