Cercis occidentalis

[Anonymous]

Primary Question:

Does anyone know of a place where 100 or more trees of Cercis occidentalis grow on one to several acres of land that flower annually?

Secondary Questions:

Is this a climax plant anywhere in its distribution? If so, where? Do nurseries now supply this species as an 'ornimental'? If so, which nurseries can be contacted regarding methods for propagation? Is there any literature available that I should be reading regarding this plant, or are there individuals who should be contacted?

Thank you for any help or advise offered.

Phil Torchio </p>

[Anonymous]

We have lots of cercis here in El portal and the Merced River Canyon. Cercis can be sprouted at home by crumpling a paper bag and shaking whole seed pods into the bag and burning the bag in a tub or area where you want to propagate the plants. Hydrochloric acid has also been used to scarify seed coats for germination. I am a little sketchy on that method however. Please feel free to contact me with other questions. Ben</p>

[Anonymous]

I just found this website! I live in Lake County, and ran a very small, and the only Native Plant Nursrey in Lake co, in the early 90's. We have a lot of redbud up here and I could get almost 100% germination of them.

Collect the seeds in February or nowthey must go through winter freezes on the bush for this method to work. clean pods, and take each little seed and chip or nick a tiny piece of the seed coat with an exacto knife. Bring pot of water to boil,remove and let sit about 5 minutes, then dump in seeds and let sit overnight. Plant in small pots or six paks in regular potting soil and put in warm place; they take about a month to being germinaton, and those that don't, may germinate the next year!Karen</p>

[Anonymous]

Re: Redbud Herbivory

You might not even need to worry much if the munching is happening this late in the season. After all, this is a deciduous plant, so it`s getting ready to shed all those leaves anyway!

Spring to mid-summer leaf munching would be a bigger concern, but in late summer, the plant is preparing to get rid of the current crop of leaves.

If you are really bothered by the leaf munching, you could go out at night with a bug net and gently beat the branches, trying to get all the little creatures on the leaves to drop into the net. Then you can examine your finds. Try books for ID, then a local entomologist. Failing that, you can always send your bugs specimens to Richard Fagerlund, the Bug Man. Email me, and I can give you details on how to reach him.

It wouldn`t be a bad idea to try and ID the culprit - after all, if it`s black vine weevils, they do their real damage as root-eating larvae. You would want to know if something like that is afoot, but maybe it`s just seasonal munchers who will move on soon.

Good luck,

Lori Hubbart </p>

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your input. Las Pilitas also responded and I think put their finger on the problem. Hungry goldfinches eating the soft new growth. This makes sense because there is no apparent insect activity and we have lots of goldfinches. They also thought we need not worry too much about this. Thanks again.</p>



</p>