Photo: Blue Whale Trees

Eastern Redbud

Scientific name: Cercis canadensis

Also called redbud, American redbud, American Judas tree.

Magenta flowers on bare branches in early spring, heart-shaped leaves and a graceful spreading crown.

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Saplings ship bare-root or in a pot, usually 12 to 18 inches tall, in the dormant season, and their height and age are stated here with the price, once available.

We grow it as saplings and seed. One email when it is listed with prices, and nothing else. Or ask, and we reply with what is ready now. Live plants ship February to May and October to November.

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Showy flowersWildlife valueDrought tolerantStreet tree

Type: Small tree
Mature height: 20–30 ft
USDA zones: 4–9
Growth rate: Medium
Flowers: March to May
Fruit: Pods, July to September
First crop: Under 7 years (first flowers; no pods in the first year of bloom)
Mature spread: 35 ft
Sun: Full, Part
Soil moisture: Dry, Average
Grows wild in: The forest understory, rocky ground, old fields and edges
Native range: 28 states and the District of Columbia, north to Wisconsin, south to Florida and west to Nebraska
List all 29
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia
Also recorded, not native, in Massachusetts, New Mexico and New York. See what is native in your state

Hardiness zones Find your zone by ZIP code

Redbud blooms straight from the bark before the leaves, feeding early bees. Seed-grown trees from northern sources are hardier than the southern-sourced stock common in the trade. Shorter-lived than most trees, at a few decades, but easy and quick. As a street tree it fits a tree lawn only 3 to 4 feet wide. Good for a small front yard, or as a quick tree while slower oaks fill in.

Size, growth and what to expect

Eastern redbud trees have flowered at less than 7 years old, though they set no pods in the first year of bloom. It grows at a medium pace, roughly a foot and a half a year in its youth on an average site, which is the rate our growth estimator uses for it. A mature tree stands 20 to 30 feet tall and spreads 25 to 35 feet.

The flat reddish-brown pods run 2 to 4 inches long and half an inch wide and hold 4 to 10 seeds. Cardinals, bobwhites, grosbeaks, squirrels and deer eat the seeds. The old name Judas tree comes from a legend that Judas hanged himself from the European species. It is short-lived, at 20 to 25 years on most sites, though trees still bear seed at 75.

It grows wild from New Jersey and southern Pennsylvania west to southern Michigan and southeastern Nebraska, south to central Texas and east to central Florida.

How to grow Eastern Redbud

Eastern redbud takes full sun or half a day of it, on average or dry ground, heavy clay included. It will not have standing water, so keep it off ground that puddles. The crown spreads about as wide as the tree is tall, so give it 20 feet from the house and 15 to 20 feet between trees.

Plant while dormant. Saplings arrive bare-root or potted, and since redbud grows a deep central root and resents moving, it goes in young and stays put. Make the hole wide and shallow, set the flare at grade, refill with native soil, and mulch clear of the trunk. Stake only if it rocks in wind. Soak seed overnight in water just off the boil, sow it in a fall bed under screen, and let winter chill it.

Keep it watered through the first summer and in dry spells the year after. Rabbits and voles gnaw thin young bark, so guard the lower trunk until it thickens. Prune in late winter for one leader or a few well-spaced trunks.

Redbud needs pollen from a different tree to set pods, and bees carry it, so plant two or more seedlings. Watch for canker, which kills branches on drought-stressed trees. Water in dry years and cut dead wood back into sound tissue. Expect volunteer seedlings under an older eastern redbud.

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

Sources (13)