Cercis griffithii

Struggling to flower in our climate, it is heartening to find a scattering of soft lilac coloured buds held tightly to the older wood of Cercis griffithii. It has a natural range stretching from Southern Europe to central Asia. Here the wood is baked in the more extreme continental climate.

The leaves emerging from the deciduous large shrub framework are heart shaped, dark red in the juvenile stage, turning green as the season progresses. On the edge of its survival zone this plant will not tolerate heavy soil or a wet root run. To be sure of success plant young specimens in sheltered situations.