Back to top I would like to know how to propagate red bud trees. They were so beautiful this year. Redbud trees should germinate easily from seed. You have two options, either direct sowing outside in the fall, or harvest your seeds, soak them in sulfuric acid for one hour, then put the seeds in a plastic bag filled with moist peat moss or potting soil, and keep them in your refrigerator for three months. Then pot them up and they should germinate.
Softwood cuttings taken in the spring or early summer can also root.
Back to top I planted a redbud tree in my yard a year ago in the fall. It was fine through the winter and spring, and then in the summer it began developing brown spots. No other damage appears anywhere on the tree. At the suggestion of a local nursery, I sprayed it in July with Malathion, but the spots appear to have gotten worse. Other than a mild case of lace bugs on my azaleas, no other problems are apparent in my yard.