Japanese name: セイヨウハナズオウ Scientific name:Cercis siliquastrum
[Overview]
A deciduous small tree 5–8 m tall, with a crown about as wide as it is tall.
In its native range it sometimes reaches 12 m.
It often grows as a multi-stemmed clump.
Leaves are simple and alternate, round heart-shaped, 7–12 cm in both length and width, with a tip that is not pointed and sometimes notched.
The leaf margin is entire.
Young leaves are tinged reddish brown.
It flowers before the leaves emerge.
Very short pseudoracemes arise from the leaf axils and the trunk, each bearing 3–6 flowers, but because the inflorescences are short, the flowers look like bundles.
The flowers are reddish purple and pea-shaped.
The fruit is a flat pod 10 cm long that hangs down.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, fertile soil.
For potted plants, and for plants in the ground less than 2 years after planting, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
For established plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient.
Apply organic fertilizer around the plant in winter.
If pruning, do it while the plant is leafless.
Pests and diseases include Verticillium wilt, damping-off, leafhoppers and scale insects.
