Here is a link to a picture of the tree.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:364167}}

Looks about right to me.

Arktrees

most white tissue.. in nature.. comes out yellow or greenish ... and then fades to white ...

i suspect you have just not noticed it previously ...

there is a lot of improper pruning at wall height on that plant .... and it appears to have too much potential as to size.. for where it is sited ... it will swallow that side of an otherwise gorgeous house ...

you MUST either remove it.. or learn proper pruning techniques to beat it back ... IMHO ... unfortunately.. from this picture.. i can not figure out where to go with pruning ....

never heard of a whitebud.. is it just a redbud with white flowers????

at the link.. you can see that this TREE.. has a lot of potential.. and yet it appears to be planted within 4 to 6 feet of the house ...

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Ken,
Yes, it's a white-flowered Cercis canadensis.

There's one growing at the public library here. I've collected(with permission) cuttings of it from time to time; have had no luck with grafting dormant cuttings in early spring, but some success budding it onto redbud seedlings in mid-late summer.

Thanks for the comments and Ken thanks for the nice words about the house.

I'll post a picture from the side tomorrow as I'm surprised to hear that you don't feel there is enough room for the tree to be there. I wonder if there is more room than the picture is showing. I'd imagine there is 6-8 feet between the tree stump and the wall of the house.

It was planted by my landscaper who has a degree form a good school in landscape architecture. When he recommended this tree for the area he described how it would work well with the house and also look nice with our other plantings underneath it. As for pruning it I don't know if my maintenance company (also run by the landscaper) just isn't doing a good enough job with pruning or if they are intentionally letting it grow since he was concerned that it didn't flower last year.

I'm definitely a novice with respect to all of this but enjoy learning. With respect to pruning is that usually something that is handled by a maintenance company or do those typically just mow the lawn and it is my responsibility to prune trees? I'll have to take a look at my contract when I get home.

did you my hit link and see the trees with the 20 to 30 foot canopies???

8 feet is not enough for a TREE!!!!

ask your 'scaper' to show you the book he studied on pruning TREES!!! at 3 feet repeatedly ....

i love training trees.. its my job ... [it usually involves some adult beverages.. and some bleeding.. lol .. depending on too many beverages] ....

but it can be done with checkbook pruning.. should you wish ... its just going to be hard to find someone qualified ....

it usually isnt the boss who is the problem ... its the highly qualified third grade graduates that he has to hire to man the saw .... that usually cause the problems ....

hold your next check until the boss comes and explains how and why pruning a TREE [note emphasis] involves repeatedly topping it at wall height ....

doesnt anyone agree with me.. or am i dreaming this stuff up????

ken

I agree with Ken. It seems there are a lot of side branches that were hacked off and the center allowed to grow. Not sure of their rationale. Maybe now they'll let it be a tree. Perhaps eventually getting rid of the side stuff? Maybe needed a reason to come back and prune more? Dunno.

tj

is he trying to prune it as a shrub maybe? i would think there would be better choices if that were the goal. still looks kinds neat. not like we have an eighty foot monster planted there.

I took a few more pictures of the tree and also did some measurements. The base of the tree is 9.5' from the edge of the garage wall. It is 7.5' from the side of the wall that curves around. Driving around my neighborhood I did see many Redbud trees that were close to houses and I thought they looked nice.

What specifically should I ask my landscaper with respect to the pruning? To my very untrained eye it does look like there are some questionable cuts. It almost seems like they were trying to minimize the number of branch extensions. I'm not sure if this will be good for the long term growth of the tree or if it was just a maintenance guy who cut anything to make it seem like they are keeping an eye on it.

Anyway here are two pictures that show both a side view of the tree (sorry if it is hard to make out the specifics of the tree) and the front of the house so you can see how it will play in the overall landscaping scheme.

{{gwi:364168}}
{{gwi:364169}}

Thanks for the help.

Modest projections of width for Cercis canadensis are 25 feet wide. At that mature width, it would need to be 12.5 feet away from any structure to avoid "pruning to fit". Some projections are 35 feet. This is a tree that looks best when it is allowed to have a graceful spread.

Is that an "ornamental pear" on the front left corner? Not a nice enough tree for such a beautiful and stately house! But anyway, how close is that to the house?

ks-man,
My BIL graduated with a degree in ornamental horticulture, and spent 25+ years in charge of grounds maintenance and landscaping for the state capitol complex and governor's mansion in our home state.
I used to kid him about being a 'landscape architect' - which, to him, was an insult. Most LAs can draw out nice landscape plans, but unfortunately, not all know enough(or, in some cases, almost anything) or consider anything about ultimate size, shape, habit of the plants they 'place' in their designs. For some of them, it's all about how it looks at the moment it's installed - not what it's going to look like 10, 15, 40 years down the road.

Thanks for the follow-ups.

Essentially what happened was that it was a spec built house and much of the landscaping (such as the pear tree) was installed by the builder's landscaper. As typically happens since landscaping comes at the end of a project it will often get the short end of the stick with respect to dollars invested. We have added a lot of new plantings to either replace or add to what was already there.

As to my new landscaper, I do like him but I'd be lying if I said there haven't been any issues. He is easy to work with and easy to get a hold of which is a real plus in this business. Many of my neighbors can't ever get a hold of their guys so I like that I have somebody who is willing to take the time to answer my questions.

I'm very unqualified to judge his abilities which is why I appreciate the comments, even if they've been a little rough. I hear that he has a landscape architecture degree from a good school and that tells me at least that he isn't completely winging it. As to his plan he was restricted by what was already in place from the builder's landscaper but I don't know if there have been missteps on his part too. As somebody around here pointed out I don't think he was the one to actually prune the Whitebud but he is still responsible for his workers' actions.

We basically doubled the original bed where all of these trees are. He had a nice plan (see below) that detailed the plants and trees that he wanted to add or move. Looking at his plan it made sense when he presented it and I'm now imagining he always intended to limit the spread of the whitebud. Whether that is a design mistake or just dealing with the limitations at hand I don't know. Even if a whitebud would look better with more room to spread it might still be the best looking tree for this area even if it isn't at 100% of its potential. Just speculating on that.

It seems like the main feedback that I'm getting here is that most of the landscaping isn't nice enough for that house (thanks again btw for the nice comments about the house). At this point I don't want to put in more $$ to increasing the landscaping as we have put a lot in over the last 3 years. This includes 3 trees and a whole bunch of plants. I also have some warranties still valid for a few plants and the maple tree in the "front view" picture. I want to give it a few years to see how what we put in develops which should also help clear things up with respect to if this landscaping company is the right one to move forward with for many years to come. How do I know what are considered "high quality" plantings vs. "low quality"?

What in this picture (I can post pics of my other beds too if needed) is telling you that the design is lacking merit and that his other plantings are questionable?

I really appreciate all this help and feedback. In a perfect world I wouldn't have to worry about any of this stuff and it would all be in my designer's hands. The internet is both a blessing and a curse b/c 10 years ago I wouldn't have even known where to begin to get this type of information. The phrase ignorance is bliss comes to mind...

{{gwi:364170}}

just answer me this: ARE YOU HAPPY WITH IT ALL??

if so.. ignore the purists ... US! ...

if not.. it might be time for you to start taking charge .. and doing this stuff yourself ... gardening is exercise.. therapeutic ... and fun ... and not really all that hard ...

but if you dont have the interest .. nor the time ... and NEED to deal with a 3rd party ... so be it ... just dont worry about it all ... your scape is good enough ... perfect or not ...

is your life so simplified .. that you want to make a problem out of this landscape ...????

i guess i am asking you to move beyond the specifics of the individual plants.. and look deep into yourself.. and ask:

WHERE AM I GOING WITH ALL THIS????

i suggest that you dont go making problem.. nor landscaper problems... just for the heck of it ...

good luck

ken

ps: what was the original question???? ... oh.. lol.. flowering trees.. will bloom when they darn well want to .. based on becoming 'established' .. and that has to do with growing the root mass needed to support the plant above .. on transplanting.. only 2 years ago ... your tree is not 'est'd' yet ... so it is not blooming like it might ... plus.. if they keep hacking it up.. they will be cutting off the flower buds .... every summer to keep it small ...

First of all, thanks for being receptive to comments and taking them in good spirit.

I can only respond for myself, but to me a nice house deserves better (and less common) plants than what people are running over to Home Depot/Lowes to pick up. Ornamental pears are a) a dime a dozen, and b) now recognized as a less than desirable tree for long-term. Ditto for vinca (but at least here it is contained in a bed).

That doesn't necessarily mean that other trees are more expensive, but they require a bit of research (and people here are great at offering ideas). But I understand that these things are already installed and money is spent. As time goes by, a plant here and there can changed - I certainly am not suggesting any wholesale replacement. And I understand that it was the builder that did it, not your current guy. By the way, many folks are willing to accept those kinds of common plants because they are familiar and they want to fit in.

I think the fact that your guy choose a white flowered Cercis is a sign of originality right there. And to be fair to him, based on his discussion with you and your family, he perhaps choose good dependable perennials because he needs the area to thrive with minimal effort. There is no sense picking cutting edge items and then having them die; who looks bad then? Him.

So my beef is mainly with the builder (no surprise there as you said, it is the end of the project) for picking the crappy pear and with your guy for putting the Cercis too close. Whereabouts are you located, by the way?

@ Ken
Ouch, that slap hurt ;) Yes I'm happy in general. My plants and trees are starting to show flowers and the weather has been perfect outside the last few days. Seeing the plantings come out bring a smile to my face. I walk around with my daughter (2.5 years old) and we smell each one. She hasn't asked yet why the whitebud is so close to the wall :) I moved from a condo in Chicago where you don't worry about things like landscaping so seeing my own yard and plants makes me happy. I love watching my new trees grow. Especially the three that I bought and were planted after I moved in. As you pointed out my initial question asked if the tree looked healthy. We got side tracked with some of the comments. I'm naturally inquisitive so when I heard them I wanted to get more information.

@ esh_ga
I'm in the North suburbs of Chicago. I agree the pear tree looks common to what a lot of other houses have (also it's 10.5' from the house). There are tons of redbuds around as well so I agree that the whitebud is a touch of originality (I do love seeing those redbuds though). I'm actually still in contact with my builder and I've let him know that I wasn't very impressed with his original landscaper. A bunch of the stuff was ugly and a lot of other things didn't make it. Whether the issue was a complete lack of funds for the project area or just a bad landscaper I'll never know. He built a great house that has been holding up very well so I'll give him a pass on the plants.

I don't mind that people give their comments even if it questioning some decisions that either I or some of my workers made. I'm certainly not trying to create problems but rather want to understand what you are all seeing so that in the future I know the right questions to ask. I'm sure in the years (and hopefully decades) to come living in this house I will be buying more plants and possibly even some trees so I think it is good to be knowledgeable about the subject.

Thanks again for all the great comments.

Take a field trip Rich's Foxwillow Pines in Woodstock, IL. Not to buy, not just yet, but to get an idea as to what a nice conifer could do for you.

tj

i didnt mean it as a slap ... sorry if it came out that way ....

all i was trying to do was tell you to become proactive.. rather than checkbook reactive ....

as you walk the 'hood.. just look at what others have done ... and when you see something you like.... knock on the door or drop a note ... and ask.. and/or snap some pix and come back here ...

sooner or later.. you will make your castle into what you want..

rather than some landscape guys ideas ...

you seem to project that the has come to learn.. so carpe landscapeum ..... seize the landscape ...

gardening is a relaxing joy.. when you have the time to learn.. and the budget to do things ... and its not really all that hard ... just plant what you like ... what do you have to lose???

good luck

ken

No worries, I was just joking.

I asked my landscaper about the tree. He was over doing other work and I asked him about the pruning and how it would ultimately grow out. He seemed to have a good plan and understanding of how it would grow and I'm willing to let him handle it as he sees fit and see how it turns out.

He told me about another whitebud in the neighborhood that they planted 15 years ago and what my tree will ultimately look like as it grows.

{{gwi:364171}}
{{gwi:364172}}

While I'm not sure the distance between this tree and the two houses (since that was where some of the original questions in the thread came from) I definitely like the look and am willing to trust him. I don't have the time to take up this stuff as a hobby.

Thanks again for all of the help.

yes.. those pix are of a wonderful tree [if if is a whitebud] ... left as a tree ...

but he is cutting yours down to the wall to act as a shrub .... i dont think it will work in the long run .... but in the long run.. what does it matter what i think ...

regardless... a good working relationship with your guy is worth a little tree torture ... at least he knows you are concerned about it.. and maybe he will come to see the light ... lol ..

good luck

ken

ps: when the pear becomes damaged.. and it will ... dont bother coming back here to ask 'how to fix it' .. just get rid of it.. though i would enjoy the visit.. do come back for other reasons ...

Another quick question I had.

How come the picture of the tree in the neighborhood has one solid tree trunk where mine has a bunch branching out as a trunk (are they called shoots?) Is that just a difference between different individual trees or does it mean mine is a different species of whitebud? As the tree ages will the multiple trunks look better, worse or just different than a single trunk tree?

i think you are getting there ...

it looks like it does.. because your TREE has been hacked to look like a SHRUB ...

instead of trained into a TREE ...

when they are all 6 inches tall .. they can be trained .. pruned .. into many things ...

they can be encouraged to form one trunk to any height you wish .... forming a tree..

or run over repeated with a bush whacker until they form into a shrub form ...

that is what bothers me ... us??? .... its a tree NOT a shrub ... it makes us insane on some level ... which is most likely why i keep coming back and trying to explain it to you ....

what i am uncertain about.. is how it will perform in regard to flowering ....

that pic is supreme.. because the flowering parts have not been pruned off ... yours on the other hand.. has sporadic flowers because it is butchered every summer ... yours will never look like the other because he is pruning a tree to look like a shrub ...

or he is an evil genius.. on the cutting edge of plant physiology.. and is onto something new by training trees to perform like shrubs ....

ken