Planting distance for long term development is the same as estimated crown spread - no need to make it more complicated. If they all grow 30' wide, plant them 30' apart. One grows 20' wide, another 15' - picture each as a circle that wide on a piece of paper and space accordingly. That's if you are planting a sort of border of shrubby trees. Tree-like specimens with elevated crowns register as accent points in the landscape and should be widely spaced as otherwise a cluttered effect may result. When all the trees are the same kind they can be grouped closely together to form a grove or clump. 'Forest Pansy' does fade in hot weather, so that you end up with only the newest leaves being purple later in the season. One on a Seattle (USDA 8) street had an average crown spread of more than 30' some years ago. Native pretty consistently to hot summer climates only, redbuds need a warm situation with good drainage; many plantings have problems with dieback if not well sited.

Did it get zapped by an early warm up period followed by a sudden freeze episode early this spring after the tree had already broken dormancy? Otherwise, is it getting enough water? As long as you see growth the roots are still alive. Do not cut anything off right now, so the tree's leaves can produce enough food for the root system to prepare for next winter. leave the branch growing outward and farther up alone for right now. According to your description that may be the only branch you know for certain is the cultivar of redbud you purchased. You will want to keep comparing how the leaves on the lower new growth compares to the look of the leaves on that higher sideways growing branch. It may take a while for the new growth's leaves to harden off and settle down before you can do an accurate comparison. Right now those lower leaves probably are much large than the leaves on that higher branch. If so that does not definately mean that they are a different cultivar. It would only more reasonably mean that the roots are reacting to the leaf loss in the upper canopy. Remember, also, that often times new leaves will change in their coloring, size, and even sometimes their shape once they harden off and mature. Next look closely at the rootflare of the tree and up the trunk until you see the highest of the new growth sprouts. Is there any of these new growth which is/are above the graft union? All those factors should help you determine what needs to eventually be done for your tree. To determine where the graft union is, if in fact there is one, start just beneath the highest sideways growing branch which is leafed out and, simply run your hand down the trunk all the way down until you notice an interruption in the smooth continuation of the trunk. The union may look like a bulge, scaring, slightly different change in bark color and texture, or a number of other type changes. Next do scratch tests to see how high the tree's dead looking main trunk is still green just slightly under the bark. Most likely the main trunk will still be green below that side growing upper branch you described. If you see any green just under the bark that is higher than that branch then it would be a good idea to keep the tree watered well, and wait to see how the tree progresses in its recovery. If for any reason you choose to cut the main trunk down to just above where the highest new growth sprouts are growing, You should give the tree some non-burning, root feeding fertizer once a week for the next three weeks, and then switch to one application of a slow release non-burning top growth fertilizer. If all that sounds to confusing or like more work than you want to do, simply dig the tree up and plant it in a pot that you move to a dapple shade area, and keep it well watered. Then begin looking for a new redbud or other type tree you want to plant in the redbud's planting bed as soon as the summer temps begin to decrease to daily high temperatures that are not above the lower 80s degree F. temp. range.

I am not in your zone, but I do love redbuds and have several varieties. I love Forest Pansy, but should disclose that without a fair amount of sun it just turns into dark, not red, leaves, similar to many of the Japanese maples. Obviously if you plant it as an understory tree like most redbuds want, the window of opportunity for really red leaves is slim, as the tree will no longer be red when the trees above it are in full leaf. Best location seems to be almost full sun if you want to keep it red. Of course, it has an oversized leaf, so that also means that it will need to be monitored more often to make sure it does not wilt down, which many of the fancies will do. I do offer up the Hearts of Gold is another newer variety that is supposed to do well out in full or almost full sunlight, with oversized leaves and the color of a golden delicious apple. What a beauty. All of these newer varieties were accidental seedlings discovered by someone who caught that they were special, many at a young age. Yes, they are patented and propagated via graft, so you are supposed to have a permit to produce more of these trees. Also, a plus for some, these guys tend to set very little, if any, seed. Lavender Twist will set less than 30 pods on an adult tree, all 25% the size of a normal pod, all sterile. I have seen seed for Forest Pansy offered on Ebay with the disclaimer that it may not breed true, but I am very suspicious that the seed may have been harvested from any branches belonging to the root parent, making it plain old redbud from the forest, but not a Forest Pansy. Don't forget some of the older varieties - Oklahoma redbud, the Texas redbud, and the weeping redbud, Traveller. Traveller is the one I want, but couldn't find at anywhere a resonable price. My Lavender Twist is similar, but not the same. A problem that I do not see addressed is predation of young trees by deer. Of course, in NJ, deer prey on most plants. They will chomp off a 2 or 3 year old tree at the base, and strip the leaves off of the lower limbs of older trees. Imagine my surprise to walk out and see a whole you could drive a car through in my Lavender Twist. They had eaten leaves, branches, twigs, everything but the trunk. I know that many do not like to hear this, but they are as bad as any noxious pest we freely kill - rats, mice, or groundhogs, for a few. So destructive, populations soaring as they have found new buffets of food as the gardeners foolishly believe that there is anything you can grow that the deer will not learn to eat. OK, that was my pet peeve for the day. Plant those redbuds, make the world a more beautiful place, one tree at a time. Happy gardening!

I inspected the tree closer this morning and there are indeed holes that appear to be caused by some sort of boring insect. I also found "termite tubes" in areas that the bark appears to be pulling away. No visible sign of termites but we just had a treatment done a couple of weeks ago. I read that the termites could have been just feeding on already dead / dying wood. We are considering removing the tree but should we wait until spring and see if it blooms back out or is it too late?