Flame Thrower® Redbud Tree

Flame Thrower® Redbud Tree — The Most Dramatic Foliage of Any Redbud

The Flame Thrower® Redbud takes everything gardeners love about the Eastern Redbud and turns the drama up to maximum. In spring, purple-pink blooms coat the bare branches — just like the classic redbud. But then the leaves emerge in a rich burgundy-red, gradually shifting to golden yellow, then settling into green as summer matures. No other redbud puts on a foliage show like this. It's a tree that looks completely different from one month to the next.

What Makes It Exceptional

• Stunning Color-Shifting Foliage: Leaves emerge burgundy-red in spring, transition through warm yellow, and mature to green — a continuous, evolving display unlike any other tree in the landscape.
• Purple Spring Blooms: Before the leaves even appear, the branches are covered in rich purple-pink flowers that attract early pollinators and signal the start of the season.
• Heart-Shaped Leaves: The classic redbud leaf shape adds a romantic, soft quality to the canopy that complements both modern and cottage garden styles.
• Four-Season Interest: Spring blooms, summer color-shifting foliage, warm fall tones, and an architectural winter silhouette — every season brings something new.
• Right-Sized for Most Landscapes: Reaches a graceful 20–25 ft. at maturity — ideal for smaller yards, as a patio specimen, or as a layered accent in larger gardens.
• Low Maintenance: Adaptable to a wide range of soils, minimal pruning required, and naturally resistant to most pests and diseases.

Growing Guide

• Light: Full sun to part shade
• Water: Regular watering until established; drought-tolerant thereafter
• Hardiness: USDA Zones 5–9
• Mature Height: 20–25 ft.
• Bloom Time: Early spring (March–April), before leaves emerge
• Available Size: 4–5 ft.

There's a particular moment in late April when the Flame Thrower®'s leaves are transitioning from burgundy to gold — both colors present at once, the whole canopy glowing warm in the afternoon light. It's the kind of thing that makes you stop and stare.

Explore More Redbud & Specimen Trees

• Eastern Redbud Tree — the classic native redbud with brilliant magenta-pink spring blooms and heart-shaped green foliage
• Bloodgood Japanese Maple — deep purple-red foliage all season long, a stunning color companion to the Flame Thrower®'s shifting palette