Eastern Redbud

Cercis canadensis

This Eastern redbud sits right on Summer St. just off Broadway nestled in a quaint front yard between a house and sidewalk. Considered a small tree, it fits well in this front yard, just like a beech would on a larger property. A native species more prevalent to inland Eastern US, it is rare to find a large specimen thriving in Newport. This tree prefers deep, rich soils that hold lots of summer moisture, making it more difficult o grow in RI without supplemental water during our summer dry spells. Unusual to many flowering trees, it forms its flower buds along the interior of its branches on previous year’s wood, even with flowers forming on the main trunk as with this particular tree. The buds open bright pink with 5 different shaped petals. Most flowering trees form their flowers on the tips of the branches with few blossoms near the interior of the tree. Redbud does this in opposite, which makes for an easy ID in the spring.