Flame Thrower Redbud
Cercis canadensis ‘NC2016-2’ · a gold-and-orange-leaf redbud
An NC State redbud whose leaves open burgundy and shift through red and bronze to gold, so the tree glows with several colours at once, after purple-pink flowers smother the bare branches in spring. Leaf colour is richest in full sun and fades after midsummer; plant it for keeps, as redbuds resent moving.
- Mature size
- 17 × 12 ft
- 5.5 × 4 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 5a–9b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Dry to moist
- Blooms
- Apr
Flame Thrower Redbud at its mature size
A mature Flame Thrower Redbud grows 15 to 20 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide, taller than most people.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: NC State Extension, The Tree Center.
Through the year
What Flame Thrower Redbud looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
Dormant · Dec–Mar
Bare zigzag branches.
In flower · Apr
Leafless branches covered in small rose-purple pea flowers.
In leaf · May–Sep
Heart-shaped leaves in a mix of colours on one tree: purple-red at the tips, then orange, gold and chartreuse inside.
Fall · Oct–Nov
Leaves turned yellow.
Photos
Growing Flame Thrower Redbud
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Southeast, the Midwest, and the Plains and Mountain West.
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Good for
- Small space, specimen, drought tolerant, and pollinators
- Leaves
- Drops its leaves in winter
- Native to
- Eastern North America
Spacing
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Flame Thrower Redbud, that’s about 12 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Flame Thrower Redbud in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other redbuds
Western Redbud
Flame Thrower Redbud
Eastern Redbud
Forest Pansy RedbudAll drawn to the same scale.