As I am only in my second season of growing in this situation, I am a complete novice....but a few tentative observations. Firstly, not only is the entire area rooty (it is a poplar plantation) and dry, I have no irrigation either (apart from a ridiculous saucepan on a long stick), so, I am growing from seed, directly in situ, or transferring tiny plants straight into the ground rather than potting them on (which is what I would normally do). As they only get puddled in once, it is quite true to say, the smaller, the better, when it comes down to establishing a rootmass. Then, there are the roots themselves. The bigger, the better....so, looking at what is growing already, I am seeing plants with great tap-roots or vigorous rhizome-y type affairs which can search out the (plentiful) water down at water table level. Cow parsley, hogweeds, nettles are all rampant....which gives me huge encouragement as my woods are nothing like evergreen plantations or beechwoods. Grasses grow freely, so I have added clovers and sainfoins, along with many wildflower seeds. Bulbs, of course, are an obvious suggestion - 3000 narcissi were planted last year - after 50 years of fallow neglect, the fertility in the soil is surprisingly high (as the chickweed and nettle attests) and I am helping out further with comfrey. and various legumes (the lathyrus of various types are doing well) From seed, foxgloves, meconopsis, aquilegias, hesperis, hardy geraniums, salvias, callirhoe, linaria, martagons, bluebells, campanulas, cenolophium, peucedanum, chaerophyllum, millium, valerian, campions,lysimachias and epilobiums are thriving....and I have added many other varieties (as I feel it is going to involve harsh selection and extensive culling). Of course, I am still feverish with delight at owning A WOOD....although I alternate between despair, glee, delusional tendencies and insane optimism....sometimes in the same day..

perhaps clarifying what brandon said ... presuming there is an Aurea... then the aurea has aurea seeds ... so they would be traded as such ... but the resultant plants are a cross of aurea and something else.. so they are NOT Aurea ... per se ... even if selfed ... if we change from aurea to the simple word Gold or yellow ... then we begin to understand that the ALLEGED name is NOT descriptive of a unique cultivar.. which is presumable the whole point of nomenclature rules ... as noted ....in the olden days ... any gold tree was lumped under the latin term Aurea ... creating the nightmares we are dealing with now... if someone would have just 'named' a plant.. then we wouldnt all be speculating as to what aurea means ... maybe.. when you grow on some seeds.. and SELECT a superior cultivar.. you can name it C. bignonioides 'Kate' .. and we can thereby avoid the confusion ... the same naming protocol has created problems in conifers.. and hosta ... and probably every other plant in the world ... ken ps: and dont get me started on using pseudo in naming a plant.. whats that all about .... a pseudolarix... a pseudoplanatus ... i mean really .. its either a larix or it isnt.. its either a sycamore.. or it isnt.. whats the point of calling it a false larch?? a false sycamore???? but i digress ..

I would bet that they were just planted too late in the season. I provide no special attention, mulch or protection for winter. I leave the grass up for winter interest and it tends to catch snow, providing some protection I guess. I simply cut down last seasons brown foliage each spring. I grow all of these forms; the green Hak. macra, H. macra 'Aureola', H. macra 'All Gold', and H. macra 'Beni-Kaze' and they have been totally hardy for me in zone 4b, H. 'Aureola' for the last 10 years. They prefer part shade, and a moisture retaining but well-draining soil that is rich in organic matter like leaf mold or compost to look their best.

I am wondering if Heart of Gold is reliably hardy in Z5? I have the species and it's been in the ground for about 3 years now. It is doing great. The H of G would be planted in slightly more "mild" spot on my property (south facing). My other Cercis is planted in a north facing backyard and is in a low spot on the property. I guess it would be considered a frost pocket? It survived a brutally cold spring (including a late April ice storm) in 2020 and a late frost (May 30 and 31) this past year.. outer foliage died but by July 1 it didn't even appear to be affected. A beautiful flush of new leaves emerged. Honestly, it has been the most hardy, disease-resistant and pest-resistant tree on my property. We've had it bad with Japanese beetles and this past year, gypsy moth caterpillars - nothing touches it while even our spruce were eaten by the caterpillars. Would the Heart of Gold be as hardy and reliable for me? It's a stunner in the pics... Thanks!