Hello Gardeners, I'm Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. We plant people
always want something new and it is exciting when lots of breeding work is done on a native plant which
is not only beautiful but easy to grow. Redbud, Cercis candensis, has new cultivars popping up all over.
The most popular is Forest Pansywith new leaves of deep purple, fading to green as the temps go up.
Other offerings exhibit extreme cauliflory - flowers coming right out of older branches and even the
trunk. Weeping varieties are out there - Lavendar Twist is a perfect accent for a smaller garden while
Ruby Falls is even smaller and has wine red leave that turn deep green during the summer. For those
gardeners who want all white areas, you can choose Alba which not only has white flowers but pale new
leaves as well. If you live in sunglasses then plant Risingsun it has apricot orange spring foliage.
Amanda McNulty is a Clemson University Extension Horticulture agent and the host of South Carolina ETV’s Making It Grow! gardening program. She studied horticulture at Clemson University as a non-traditional student. “I’m so fortunate that my early attempts at getting a degree got side tracked as I’m a lot better at getting dirty in the garden than practicing diplomacy!” McNulty also studied at South Carolina State University and earned a graduate degree in teaching there.