The Avondale Redbud, otherwise known as the Cercis Chinensis ‘Avondale’ is a pretty well known shrub plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this shrub will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Avondale Redbud Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The fundamental caring guidelines for every Avondale Redbud can be summed up into the following:
- Water: The Avondale Redbud prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
- Light: Keep your Cercis Chinensis ‘Avondale’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Avondale Redbud in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Avondale Redbud will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Avondale Redbud belongs to the Fabaceae family, the genus Cercis and the species Chinensis, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Cercis Chinensis ‘Avondale’ (SER-sis chi-NEN-sis).
Some of the more popular Fabaceae plants are Cercis Canadensis, False Lupine ‘Cherries Jubilee’, Weigela Florida ‘Alexandra’ Can. Plant Breeders Rights #2642Wisteria floribunda ‘Longissima Alba’, Ombrella™ Mimosa Tree, ‘Ruby Falls’ Weeping Redbud, Baptisia Australis and Forest Pansy Redbud.
As with other Cercis’s, the Avondale Redbud is a deciduous plant, which means it will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
Growing Region
The Avondale Redbud is a plant native to the Central China.
Knowing your plant’s native region is very useful, as it can give you tips on which environment is best for your Avondale Redbud. If you keep it in mind, you can try to replicate these conditions at home, and you’ll likely end with a healthier plant.
With this in mind, the Cercis Chinensis ‘Avondale’ will be most used to regions where the plant hardiness level falls between 6b, 6a, 7b, 7a, 8b, 8a, 9b, 9a and the ideal climate zone is between 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Avondale Redbud is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Avondale Redbud? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Cercis Chinensis ‘Avondale’ can grow up to 10′ – 12′ (3m – 3.6m) in 10′ – 12′ (3m – 3.6m) and 10′ – 12′ (3m – 3.6m) in 10′ – 12′ (3m – 3.6m).
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful rounded shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
Water
In terms of watering, the Avondale Redbud is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Cercis Chinensis ‘Avondale’ prefers constant watering each week and more during the hot season.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Avondale Redbud in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Avondale Redbud since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Avondale Redbud prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Avondale Redbud requires soil with clay, loam (silt), and sand, which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Avondale Redbud requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this shrub will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Cercis Chinensis ‘Avondale’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being a deciduous plant, the Avondale Redbud will shed its leaves annually once autumn comes.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid).
Flowers
You can expect your Avondale Redbud to flower around the spring months from April to June (spring).
In particular, this shrub is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Avondale Redbud produces some beautiful purple, or pink and purple/lavender flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Avondale Redbud have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a simple arrangement with a alternate organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Cercis Chinensis ‘Avondale’ to be around (3-6 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Avondale Redbud is well known for being able to attract butterflies and birds, so keep that in mind when choosing your plant, as you’ll likely end up finding one or another in your garden.
Additionally, it has a special tolerance for animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Cercis Chinensis ‘Avondale’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Avondale Redbud? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Cercis Chinensis ‘Avondale’ owners agree that this shrub will look great in most cottage, asian/zen and rustic gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Avondale Redbud’s best location within your garden is in patio and containers, beds and borders, and in small gardens, others use it for landscaping in a firescaping/fire wise, border, specimen, container, mass planting, or a urban garden.
Companion Plants
Avondale Redbud’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Hamamelis, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Symphoricarpos will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
So that’s it! These are the main plant care requirements that you need to keep in mind in order to have a healthy Avondale Redbud in your garden or home.
