# Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

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

Also called redbud, American redbud, American Judas tree. Category: Uncommon Yard Trees. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eastern-redbud/

![Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) heart-shaped leaves turning green to yellow on slender stems, a hillside behind](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/eastern-redbud-2-h1610-800.jpg)
*Photo: Blue Whale Trees*

## Facts

- Type: Small tree
- Mature height: 20 to 30 ft
- USDA hardiness zones: 4 to 9
- Grows wild in: The forest understory, rocky ground, old fields and edges
- Native range: 28 states and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC), north to [Wisconsin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WI), south to [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL) and west to [Nebraska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NE) ([Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [Connecticut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CT), [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE), [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Iowa](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IA), [Kansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KS), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO), [Nebraska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NE), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Oklahoma](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OK), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA), [West Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WV), [Wisconsin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WI) and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC)). Also recorded, not native, in [Massachusetts](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MA), [New Mexico](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NM) and [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY)
- Sun: Full, Part
- Soil moisture: Average, Dry
- 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
- Traits: Showy flowers, Wildlife value, Drought tolerant, Street tree
- Sold as: Saplings, Seed

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

## Availability

Saplings ship [bare-root](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/planting-bare-root-trees-on-arrival/index.html.md) or [in a pot](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/a-sapling-in-a-pot/index.html.md), [usually 12 to 18 inches tall](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/small-sapling-or-big-transplant/index.html.md), in the dormant season, and their [height and age](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/reading-a-nursery-listing/index.html.md) are stated with the price, once available. Live plants ship February to May and October to November. Not priced yet: leave an email on the web page for one email when it is priced, with a code for 10% off the plants in that order, not shipping or tax, or write to captain@bluewhaletrees.com.

## Notes

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.

## Sources

- [USDA Forest Service, Silvics of North America: eastern redbud](https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/eastern-redbud)
- [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Cercis canadensis](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/cercis-canadensis/)
- [The Morton Arboretum: redbud](https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/redbud/)
- [USDA NRCS Plant Guide: eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis](https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_ceca4.pdf)
- [USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: Cercis canadensis](https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/CECA4)
- [USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet: eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis, Brakie 2010](https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_ceca4.pdf)
- [USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual (2008), Cercis chapter, Banner and Stein](https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Cercis.pdf)
- [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Cercis canadensis](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CECA4)
- [University of Florida IFAS: Cercis canadensis fact sheet ENH304/ST145](https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST145)
- [USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System: Cercis canadensis](https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/cercan/all.html)
- [Go Botany, Native Plant Trust: Cercis canadensis](https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/cercis/canadensis/)
- [Virginia Tech Dendrology: eastern redbud, Cercis canadensis](https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=43)
- [Roberts, Werner, Wadl and Trigiano 2015, Inheritance and allelism of morphological traits in eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis L.), Horticulture Research 2: 15049](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4879499/)

## Read before planting

- [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md)
- [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md)
- [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md)
- [Small native trees and large shrubs for a small yard, and how to place them](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/small-native-trees-for-small-yards/index.html.md)
- [Native street trees: which ones take pavement, salt and drought, and how to fit one to the strip and the wires](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/native-street-trees/index.html.md)
- [Multistem or single stem? Sometimes the trunk is hiding the answer](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/multistem-or-single-stem/index.html.md)

## Related

- Plants that share its sun and soil: [Farkleberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/farkleberry/index.html.md), [Harbison's Hawthorn](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/harbison-hawthorn/index.html.md), [Eve's Necklace](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/eve-necklace/index.html.md) and [Dwarf Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/dwarf-hackberry/index.html.md)
- Trees to plant it under: [Common Hackberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/common-hackberry/index.html.md), [Mockernut Hickory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/mockernut-hickory/index.html.md) and [Black Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-oak/index.html.md)
- Same size, similar character: [American Smoketree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-smoketree/index.html.md), [Little Walnut](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/little-walnut/index.html.md), [Flowering Dogwood](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/flowering-dogwood/index.html.md) and [Allegheny Chinquapin](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/allegheny-chinquapin/index.html.md)
- [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Eastern Redbud, add ?species=eastern-redbud with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address; for example, the verdict for zone 4, part sun and average soil as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=eastern-redbud&zone=4&sun=part&moisture=average
- [Companion species for Eastern Redbud](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=eastern-redbud): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard.
- [Transplant planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=eastern-redbud): whether Eastern Redbud can be moved and what the move takes, the root ball, its weight, who can move it and the months, as Markdown at that address (add caliper= or height=, month= 1 to 12 and soil= sandy, loam or clay)
- [Tree growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate for Eastern Redbud as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=eastern-redbud (add height=, years= and site= poor, average or good)
- [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Eastern Redbud is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan for it as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=eastern-redbud (add state= and zone= for your own frost dates, method=fridge for the refrigerator route)
- [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Eastern Redbud needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the verdict for 2 of them as Markdown is at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=eastern-redbud:2
- [Planting-window tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md): when to plant Eastern Redbud where you live, as a fall and a spring window from the local frost dates; the windows as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=eastern-redbud&state=MO&zone=6 with your own state and zone in place of those
- [Planting-distance tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md): how far Eastern Redbud goes from a house, a septic field, a walk, wires, a property line and the next tree; the distances as Markdown are at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=eastern-redbud&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree
- [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Eastern Redbud flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species; its own row and the gaps of a planting with it as Markdown at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=eastern-redbud