Advice needed! Forest Pansy RB or Applach. Spring Dogwood?

I have both of these trees on hold for the rest of the day, I only have room for one, about 8 feet from some older pines. I love redbuds and dogwoods. One reservation I have about the Forest Pansy is I don't want a purple tree like a purple plum, I have seen so many images, that I have reached overload. It appears to become more green as the summer continues. In a perfect world, I would take both of these, but space will not allow it unless I planted them about 15 feet part, and I do not know if the two folliages would work together.

I love the layered look of a mature dogwood. I also want a bird friendly tree, which both of these trees are. The available spot does get afternoon sun.

Should I go with the dog wood and purchase one of the smaller varieties of red bud?

Sounds to me like you like the dogwood better so I'd go ahead and get it. Or if you really want a redbud, there are plenty of ones that have green leaves instead of burgundy/purple so get one of those instead of the Forest Pansy.

Forest Pansy's foliage color changes through the seasons; more green appears during summer, then changes again in fall, of course. I love both of the trees you picked and, as ecrane says, there are many redbuds with foliage that starts and stays green. I'd try to find room for both, but I can't resist interesting cultivars of lovely native understory trees.

How much space apart would I need to plant both of them? Would they look mismatched since their leaves are different?

It's all a matter of personal taste, but I really like the look of "normal" green foliage next to the dark spring & fall foliage of a tree like Forest Pansy; and they'd look spectacular blooming side by side, since they bloom at roughly the same stage of spring. Spacing would depend on whether you want them to intermingle a bit or be separate accents; I'd say ten- twenty feet apart, more if you want a distinctively individual look to each. Mine are still fairly young trees, but from what I've seen so far, neither appears to have the kind of root system that would inhibit or be problematic for the other. They are both lovely little trees that have added much to our home; and Appalachian Spring has the plus of good anthracnose resistance, which can be deadly to dogwoods in this climate. Enjoy!
Ruth

Forest Pansey is indeed a beautiful tree, but the people I know who have grown it are disappointed with its hardiness. If you live in an area where the winter temps. go below -0F I would not chance it.

Red Buds like more sun and Dogwoods like some shade. I learned that the hard way.! :(

If I remember from my years in northern VA, sandyinva's winter temps rarely if ever dip below zero. We had a wretched winter here - ice storms, the usual almost daily high winds, and snow that lasted for nearly a month on the ground (a real rarity for this area) - and Forest Pansy is showing leaf buds as we speak, so she made it through. I have heard that it can be problematic in the northern zones, but northern VA and western NC differ by only half a zone.

I decided on the Applachian spring, it was planted Friday, about 3 ft from where I first wanted it, but in a spot to provide a little more screening and should I decide to put another tree in that area later on, there is room to do so. My husband, who has said all along hat he didn't care what tree i planted. blurted out in the car yesterday that he hates "those purple blossoms."

Thank you all for your feedback!

Good choice, sandyinva; you couldn't go wrong with either one. Hope it will do beautifully for you!
Ruth