Redbud love – Cercis ‘Wavecrest’

Our friend Hans Hansen had told us about a redbud he was growing from the former Wavecrest Nursery, that was a cross of Cercis canadensis and Cercis chinensis…a cross considered difficult, if not almost impossible.  I visited last week to get cuttings (yes, it roots), and found a stunningly beautiful small tree with glossy dark green foliage. It has the floral density and trunk flowering of Cercis chinensis with the winter hardiness of Cercis canadensis, enduring Michigan winters of -12F, so far.  

Here’s a photo Hans shared of it in flower this spring.  Surprisingly, it’s never been officially released or named, so we’ve christened it, Cercis ‘Wavecrest’ to honor the amazing nursery, where it was discovered as a seedling.  If our cuttings take, we’ll work to get this into the trade and in the hands of collectors. 

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