Hello Gardeners, I'm Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. One of our earliest
spring blooming native trees is redbud, which really proves the point that common names are peculiar
as redbud is so NOT red. The flowers are pink, pea-shaped, and emerge in March and April before the
heart-shaped leaves appear. The bark is dark so the contrast between flowers and stems is dramatic.
Redbud is a florist's dream as the stems change direction slightly at each node - so there are no boring,
straight branches looking for all the world like a football umpire. The scientific name is Cercis Canadensis
- cersis from the greek word kerkis because the seed pods supposedly look like a weaver's shuttle to me
they look like a shinny flat bean and Canadensis as Canada is one of the many places where redbud is a
native. It seeds down pretty dramatically and often you see large clumps along the roadsides.
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.