The Georgia Green Industry Association nursery and landscape conference was held in Athens, June 9-11, 2026. Executive Director Lanie Riner and the Board decided to shift gears and include a pre-tour to several gardens including the Dirr’s. The 50-person bus and many interlopers arrived for the tour. Griffith Propagation, Windmill, and Greenleaf Nurseries showcased and discussed Premier Introductions, Inc. (PII) plants (Photo 1). The tour provided an opportunity for growers, retailers, landscape architects, and contractors to experience the new releases. Without equivocation, the two gems/stars were Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum Garnet Flame™ (Photo 2) and Distylium Cascade Dream™ (Photo 3). Click here for detailed information about these and other PII plants.

With the show and tell completed in 20 minutes, the remaining 1 1/2 hours were allocated to the walk and talk through the Dirr garden. Plants that created beelike buzzes were Magnolia Riveting Rosie™ (M. sieboldii ‘Colossus’ × M. insignis) (Photo 4), Cornus elliptica Empress of China™ seedling (Photo 5), several Vitex agnus-castus pink and purple seedlings, Cercis canadensis Heart A’Fire®, and ‘Floating Clouds’. There were requests for liners of the first four and Mark Griffth and his son, Taylor, returned later in the week for cuttings.

I was surprised at how little attendees knew about the newer redbuds. ‘Floating Clouds’ has evolved as Bonnie and my favorite and there are currently 18 C. canadensis derivatives in the garden. I rambled unashamedly about the merits of ‘Floating Clouds’ and will share specifics later.  The Heart A’Fire proved a WOWZER with its brilliant young red foliage (Photo 6) and graceful habit (Photo 7). Mark Andrews, brand manager, Greenleaf Nursery, discussed the breeding by Ray and Cindy Jackson, Belvidere, TN, that brought the tree to commercial reality.

Numerous redbud cultivars have been introduced since the turn of this century. Dr. Denny Werner, N.C. State University; Ray and Cindy Jackson; Robinson, Greenleaf and Hidden Hollow nurseries created magic never thought possible. Variegated foliage in myriad colors and permutations; rich and varied flower colors; compact, weeping, upright growth habits; double flowers; fruitless trees; and shrubs, often with multiple traits in a single genotype/phenotype. Herein I amalgamate the newer introductions in a brief checklist and highlight ‘Floating Clouds’ for its superb seasonal attributes.

Cercis canadensis introductions since 2000 plus a few older cultivars. Flower color listed as pink may be rose/pink/lavender or combinations. Use Google patent search for full descriptions.   

  1. *‘Ace of Hearts’ PP 17,161- Small shiny green leaves remind of the ace of hearts. Pink flowers. Compact habit.
  2. *‘Alley Cat’- Leaves splashed and speckled green and white. Pink flowers. Variegation comes true from seed.  
  3.  *‘Appalachian Red’- Deep rose-pink flowers. Possibly the richest color among the redbuds.  
  4.  *Black Pearl® (‘JN16’) PP 28,627- Deep maroon foliage. Color persists longer than ‘Forest Pansy’. Pink flowers. Compact growth habit.
  5. Burgundy Hearts® (‘Greswan’) PP 19,654- Maroon/burgundy foliage. Reminiscent of ‘Forest Pansy’. Pink flowers.
  6. *Carolina Sweetheart® (‘NCCC1’) PP 27,712- Pink, maroon mottled foliage. Pink flowers.
  7. ‘Cascading Hearts’ PP 18,528- Weeping habit. Pink flowers.  
  8. Cotton Candy™ (‘Sjo’) PP 29,290- Light pink-white flowers.
  9. *Flame Thrower™ (‘NC2016-2’) PP 31,260- Red- orange-yellow foliage. Pink flowers. A Bonnie Dirr favorite.
  10. The Garden Gems® series are ideal for small areas. Most grow 8-10’ high with variable widths. Several are weeping.
  11. *Garden Gems® Amethyst (‘NC2017-6’) PP 35,279- Purple/burgundy foliage. Pink flowers. Compact habit.
  12. Garden Gems® Amethyst Falls™ (‘NC2017-8’) PP 35,832- Purple/burgundy foliage. Weeping habit. Pink flowers.
  13. Garden Gems® Citrine (‘NC2017-92’) PP 36,009- Emerging leaves orange becoming yellow. Pink flowers.
  14. Garden Gems® Emerald (‘NC2014-5’) PP 35,079- Dark green foliage. Pink flowers.
  15. Garden Gems® Emerald Falls™ (‘NC2017-9’) PP 35,634- Weeping habit. Dark green foliage. Pink flowers.
  16. *Golden Falls® (‘NC2015-12’) PP 31,658- Weeping habit. Yellow foliage. Pink flowers.
  17. Green Machine™ (‘JN104’) PPAF- Weeping. Pink flowers.
  18. Heart’s Desire™ (‘UMN7101’)- Exceptionally cold hardy.  Zone 4. Lavender-pink flowers.
  19. *Heart A’Fire® (‘JN100’) PP 36,785- Brilliant red new growth maturing dark green. Pink flowers. This is a beauty.
  20. *‘Hearts of Gold’ PP 17,740- Pretty yellow foliage. Pink flowers. Vigorous.  
  21. *Lavender Twist® (‘Covey’) PP 10,328- Weeping. Pink flowers.
  22. ‘Little Woody’ PP 15,854- Ruffled dark green foliage. Pink flowers.
  23. Lucious Lavender™ (‘Luclavzam’)- Prolific pink flowers.  
  24. *‘Merlot’ PP 22,297- Maroon/purple foliage. Pink flowers.  Vigorous.
  25. Midnight Express™ (‘RNI-RCCs’) PP 34,213- Maroon/purple foliage. Pink flowers. Vigorous.
  26. Northern Herald® (‘Pink Trim’)- Cold hardy. Pink flowers. Vigorous.
  27. Northern Lites™ (‘WFHnoli’). Brilliant pink flowers. Cold hardy. Zone 5.
  28. Oklahoma Sparkler™ (‘JN21’) PP 32,138. Originally named Sparkling Wine™- Large mirror polished dark green leaves. Pink flowers.
  29. ‘Pink Heartbreaker’ PP 23,043- Weeping. Pink flowers.  
  30. *‘Pink Pom Poms’ PP 27,630- Double pink. Sterile. Vigorous.  
  31. *Purple Rain™ PPAF- Purple leaves. Weeping. Pink.  
  32. Purple Vase™ (‘JN112’) PPAF- Maroon/purple foliage. Pink.
  33. Rise ‘N Shine™ (‘JN31’) PPAF- Yellow, heat tolerant foliage. Pink flowers.
  34. *‘Royal White’ (old but best white)- I love this.
  35. *‘Ruby Falls’ PP 22,097- Maroon/purple foliage. Weeping habit. Pink. Small stature.
  36. Setting Sun™ (‘JN108’) PPAF- Weeping. Yellow-gold foliage. Pink flowers.
  37. Summers Tower™ (‘JN7’) PP 25,701- Upright habit. Pink flowers.
  38. Tangerine Blush™ (‘JN110’) PPAF- Tangerine foliage. Pink flowers.
  39. *‘Tennessee Pink’- Rich pure pink flowers. Vigorous.
  40. *The Rising Sun™ (‘JN2’) PP 21,451- Orange new foliage, maturing yellow gold. Pink flowers.  
  41. *‘Traveller’ (from subsp. texensis)- Weeping. Deep rose-pink flowers.
  42. *‘Vanilla Twist’ PP 22,744- Weeping. White flowers.
  43. Velvet Hearts™ (‘JN400’) PPAF- Reddish purple foliage with red underside. Pink flowers.  
  44. White Pom Poms™ (‘NC2017-108’) PP 34,293- Double white flowers. Sterile.
  45. ‘Whitewater’ PP 23,998- Weeping. Leaves white and green streaked. Pink flowers.
  46. *Zig Zag® (‘Seirb’) PP 32,895- Remarkable zig-zag stems. Pink flowers.

 

I may have missed a few but not for lack of searching the internet and contacting breeders/introducers. I grow/have grown those marked with an asterisk and observed most of the others in gardens and nurseries.  

‘Floating Clouds’ is an enigma as to origin and my original tree came from the late Don Shadow, who, if memory serves me well, named it. Don had an intuitive sense of what made a great name that would resonate with the public. Dr. Werner thought the tree might have originated in South Carolina.  Installed as a 3-gallon plant in 2010, it now measures 18’ high and 30’ wide; the arching, low slung branches, with architectural and sculptural savoir faire (Photo 8 in winter). The tree is located close to the kitchen windows; the sight of which makes my Cheerios even more enjoyable (Photo 9).

The flower buds swell in early March, the rose-purple haze glistening when the morning sun kisses the branches. Several warm days catapult them into glorious flower, the entire tree buzzing with impatiently hungry bees (Photos 10 and 11).  The tree appears decked with Christmas lights; the flowers emerging from the previous year’s stems and larger branches in clusters referred to as caulifery (Photo 12).

Leaves emerge in late March-early April, green initially, later variegated green and white in a marble cake, speckled and splashed pattern (Photo 13). Immature foliage is often pink-white-green. Foliage has proven drought and heat tolerant. Boone County Arboretum, Kentucky, reported the foliage is more heat tolerant than other variegated redbuds.  The pods are produced in supernumerary quantities which gardeners may find offensive (Photo 14). They persist into winter, providing seeds for the birds as well as numerous seedlings, variegated to various degrees (Photo 15). I enjoy sharing seedlings with fellow gardeners. Dr. Werner told me the variegation is maternally inherited. Thus, every seedling will be variegated. This phenomenon is also true for ‘Alley Cat’.

Redbuds are seldom touted for their bark which is rich chocolate brown to black, somewhat scaley, exposing the orange-brown inner bark (Photo 16).  The unique branching structure of ‘Floating Clouds’ emphasizes the bark characteristics.

On February 8, 2019, snow dusted the branches and brought them to life on the dull, dreary day (Photo 17). These magic moments are rare in zone 8a but indelible. ‘Floating Clouds’ is a four-season tree and a garden unto itself. If there is space for one tree, consider Cercis canadensis and the superb cultivars. Your mental, spiritual, and aesthetic senses will thank you.