Redbud Trees are One of the Best Spring Gifts in Indiana

At this time in April, I see the sight I have been long awaiting: the tiniest glint of pink, glowing from the dark-barked trees. The glow and glory increases a little each day until by now, the redbuds radiate their soft colors - sometimes more pink or purple, sometimes more rosy, magenta, or garnet.

Redbuds are different from other ornamental trees. Lovely fruit trees, or dwarf flowering trees and bushes, are often pruned and given symmetrical shapes. There's nothing wrong with that. But the often short, twisted trunks, and spreading branches of the redbuds have so much character and individuality. They are often hiding on the edge of wooded areas, or taking advantage of the shade underneath a large fir or spruce. They grace the creek beds and river edges in my area.

If you were to pick a route in northern Allen County this time of year, you would see a lot of them. St. Joe Road driving north out of Fort Wayne would be a good way to go to spy some. I also see many along North Clinton Street between Leo and Fort Wayne, and along Tonkel Road, especially near the creeks and streams.

Only Oklahoma claims the redbud to be its state tree. That's ok - I might claim it to be my personal tree mascot. The dark bark starts smooth, then as the tree gets older the bark may get scaly and ridged: even zigzag. I think they grow slowly, but tree literature describes the growth pattern as medium. Redbuds usually only grow to be 20-30 feet tall, and have a 30-foot spread at the crown on a large tree.

A ten-year-old tree might be sixteen feet tall. After flowering, simple leaves come out heart-shaped. They begin green and turn yellow in the fall. Pods, brown pea pods, erupt in August or so, and some birds eat them, or eat bugs they find on the bark. Sometimes the red flowers even pop out on the trunks or stems of the tree. Regular bees aren't able to pollenate redbuds, but carpenter bees and blueberry bees do.

I find these trees fascinating. Their trunks often divide close to the ground. The crowns may be funnel shaped or are often flat-topped. Something I read reported they are a tree of the pea family, which makes sense considering their long brown seed pods. George Washington wrote in his diary about transplanting seedlings into his garden from nearby forests. It makes me feel good to know our first President thought so highly of them.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt loved the trees also: he planted them both at his "little White House" in Warm Springs, Georgia, and at his estate in Hyde Park, New York. Cercis canadensis (redbuds' Latin name) doesn't grow west of Kansas: it needs the precipitation of the East and Midwestern U.S. I will gaze and gaze, finding a wonderful sight to treasure, linger upon and absorb in our flighty, distracted world. Nature such as this is so beautiful, and can bring us so much joy and gratitude. Some treasures are just out there, waiting to be enjoyed.