Hoping to get some advice on picking out a redbud cultivar to plant on my property.
I like the multicolored leaf varieties but read that ‘Rising Sun’ has weak branch angles and doesn’t hold up well to wind and snow (also has significant dieback each winter) I’m not as interested in the lighter leaf color of ‘Rising Sun’ but I’m wondering if these characteristics carry over to similar varieties from Ray and Cindy Jackson of Jackson Nursery like ‘Sparkling Wine’ and ‘Hearts A’fire’ that have red transitioning leaves. While ‘Flame Thrower’ is from a different breeding program (NC State University) I still wonder if it has similar issues too. Also would these be grafted trees or on their own roots?
my strongest contender right now is ‘Pink Pom Poms’ as the flowers look quite nice and I like that it is sterile so no issues with seedpods or volunteer seedlings. It is supposed to have a glossy leaf, but no other special leaf characteristics I’m aware of.
‘Oklahoma’ seems to have darker flowers as well which puts it in contention for me right behind pink pom poms.
Don Egolf seems like an interesting cultivar with the earliest and showiest of blooms, but I’m not as interested in a non-native cultivar. Also nice that it is typically on its own roots and more easily rooted from cuttings. probably 3rd choice for me right now
I was thinking about white flowered cultivars like ‘Alba’ and ‘Royal White” but can’t figure out what the difference is between these 2 cultivars. if I went with a white flowered cultivar I would probably go with ‘White Pom Poms’
I’m not at all interested in a weeping cultivar, variegated, all light-yellow leaves that don’t turn a dark green (i.e. ‘Hearts of gold’) or ones with dark purple leaves that don’t turn green (i.e. ‘Black Pearl’)