Redbud is a Rapid-grower and Makes a Great Yard Tree

Redbud is a Rapid-grower and Makes a Great Yard Tree The state tree of Oklahoma, Eastern Redbud is a moderate to rapid-grower when young, reaching a height of 20 to 30 feet. Thirty-year-old specimens are rare but they can reach 35 feet in height, forming a rounded vase. Trees of this size are often found on moist sites. The splendid purple-pink flowers appear all over the tree in spring, just before the leaves emerge. Eastern Redbud has an irregular growth habit when young but forms a graceful flat-topped vase-shape as it gets older. Specifics Scientific name: Cercis canadensisPronunciation: SER-sis kan-uh-DEN-sisCommon name(s): Eastern RedbudFamily: LeguminosaeUSDA hardiness zones: 4B through 9AOrigin: native to North AmericaAvailability: generally available in many areas within its hardiness range Popular Cultivars Several cultivars of eastern redbud may be seen: forma alba - white flowers, blooms about a week later; ‘Pink Charm’ - flowers pink; ‘Pinkbud’ - flowers pink; ‘Purple Leaf’ - young foliage purple; ‘Silver Cloud’ - leaves variegated with white; ‘Flame’ - more erect branching, flowers double, blooms later, sterile so no seed pods form. ‘Forest Pansy’ is a particularly attractive cultivar with purple-red leaves in the spring, but the color fades to green in the summer in the south. Management Considerations Be sure to avoid weak forks by pruning to reduce the size of lateral branches and save those which form a ‘U’-shaped crotch, not a ‘V’. Keep them less than half the diameter of the main trunk to increase the longevity of the tree. Do not allow multiple trunks to grow with tight crotches. Instead, space branches about 6 to 10 inches apart along the main trunk. Eastern redbud is best not used extensively as a street tree due to low disease resistance and short life. Description Height: 20 to 30 feetSpread: 15 to 25 feetCrown uniformity: irregular outline or silhouetteCrown shape: round; vase shapeCrown density: moderateGrowth rate: fastTexture: coarse Trunk and Branches The bark is thin and easily damaged from mechanical impact; droop as the tree grows, and will require pruning for vehicular or pedestrian clearance beneath the canopy. Routinely grown with, or trainable to be grown with, multiple trunks; not particularly showy. The tree wants to grow with several trunks but can be trained to grow with a single trunk; no thorns. Foliage Leaf arrangement: alternateLeaf type: simpleLeaf margin: entireLeaf shape: orbiculate; ovateLeaf venation: banchidodrome; pinnate; palmate; reticulateLeaf type and persistence: deciduousLeaf blade length: 4 to 8 inches; 2 to 4 inchesLeaf color: greenFall color: yellowFall characteristic: showy Flowers and Fruit Flower color: lavender; pink; purpleFlower characteristics: spring-flowering; very showyFruit shape: podFruit length: 1 to 3 inchesFruit covering: dry or hardFruit color: brownFruit characteristics: does not attract wildlife; no significant litter problem; persistent on the tree; showy Culture Light requirement: tree grows in part shade/part sun; tree grows in full sunSoil tolerances: clay; loam; sand; acidic; occasionally wet; alkaline; well-drainedDrought tolerance: highAerosol salt tolerance: noneSoil salt tolerance: poor Redbuds In-Depth Eastern Redbuds grow well in full sun in the northern part of its range but will benefit from some shade in the southern zones, particularly in the lower Midwest where summers are hot. Best growth occurs in a light, rich, moist soil but eastern redbud adapts well to a variety of soil including sandy or alkaline. Trees look better when they receive some irrigation in summer dry spells. Its native habitat ranges from stream bank to dry ridge, demonstrating its adaptability. Trees are sold as single or multi-stemmed. Young trees are easiest to transplant and survive best when planted in the spring or fall. Containerized trees can be planted anytime. The beans provide food for some birds. Trees are short-lived but provide a wonderful show in the spring and fall. Cercis are best propagated by seed. Use ripe seed to plant directly, or, if the seed has been stored, stratification is necessary before sowing in a greenhouse. Cultivars can be propagated by grafting onto seedlings, or by summer cuttings under mist or in a greenhouse.

Samuel Slater and the Textile Revolution

Samuel Slater and the Textile Revolution Samuel Slater is an American inventor who was born on June 9, 1768.  He built several successful cotton mills in New England and established the town of Slatersville, Rhode Island.  His accomplishments have led many to consider him to be the Father of American Industry and the Founder of the American Industrial Revolution.   Coming to America During the United States early years,  Benjamin Franklin and the Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures and Useful Arts offered cash prizes for any inventions that improved the textile industry in America. At the time, Slater was a young man living In Milford, England who heard that inventive genius was rewarded in America and decided to emigrate. At the age of 14, he had been an apprentice to Jedediah Strutt, a partner of Richard Arkwright  and  was employed in the counting-house and the textile mill, where he learned a lot about the textile business. Slater defied the British law against the emigration of textile workers in order to seek his fortune in America. He arrived in New York in 1789  and wrote to Moses Brown of Pawtucket to offer his services as a textile expert. Brown invited Slater to Pawtucket to see whether he could run the spindles that Brown had bought from the men of Providence. If thou canst do what thou sayest, wrote Brown, I invite thee to come to Rhode Island. Arriving in Pawtucket in 1790, Slater declared the machines worthless and convinced Almy and Brown that he knew the textile business enough to him a partner. Without drawings or models of any English textile machinery, he proceeded to build machines himself. On December 20, 1790, Slater had built carding, drawing, roving machines and two seventy-two spindled spinning frames. A water-wheel taken from an old mill furnished the power. Slaters new machinery worked and worked well. Spinning Mills and the Textile Revolution This was the birth of the spinning industry in the United States. The new textile mill dubbed the Old Factory was built at Pawtucket in 1793. Five years later, Slater and others built a second mill. And in 1806, after Slater was joined by his brother, he built another. Workmen came to work for Slater solely to learn about his machines and then left him to set up textile mills for themselves. Mills were built not only in New England but in other States. By 1809, there were 62 spinning mills in operation in the country, with thirty-one thousand spindles and twenty-five more mills being built or in the planning stages. Soon enough, the industry was firmly established in the United States. The yarn was sold to housewives for domestic use or  to professional weavers who made cloth for sale. This industry continued for years. Not only in New England, but also in those other parts of the country where spinning machinery had been introduced. In 1791, Slater married  Hannah Wilkinson, who would go on to invent two-ply thread and become the first American woman to receive a patent.​ ​Slater and Hannah had 10 children together, although four died during infancy. Hannah Slater died in 1812 from complications of childbirth, leaving her husband with six young children to raise. Slater would marry for a second time in 1817 to a widow named Esther Parkinson.