Eastern Redbud

Growing Eastern Redbud

A small understory tree that flowers straight off the trunk and limbs before leafing out. Heart-shaped leaves turn gold in fall; tolerates clay and part shade.

Where it belongs

Eastern redbud is native across the East, Midwest, Plains, and Texas, growing as an understory tree at woodland edges, along fencerows, and on slopes in open hardwood forest.

It flowers in a way almost no other tree in the country does. The buds open directly from old wood, so the flowers appear on the trunk and on limbs several inches thick, not only on the twigs. A mature tree in early spring looks as though the magenta is coming out of the bark, because it is. The botanical term is cauliflory, and it is common in the tropics and rare here.

Growing it

Full sun to part sun, dry to medium soil, in loam, clay, or rocky ground, zones 4 to 9. Twenty to thirty feet tall and fifteen to twenty-five feet wide.

Adaptable. It takes clay, tolerates part shade, and handles ordinary garden conditions without fuss. It does not want wet feet.

It is in the pea family, which is visible in the flower shape and in the flat seed pods that follow.

It is not especially long-lived, often thirty to fifty years, and older trees develop cankers and lose limbs. Plan for it as a medium-term tree.

Provenance matters more than usual here. The species ranges from Michigan to Texas, and stock grown from southern seed is less cold hardy in the North. Buy from a regional grower.

Prune in late spring after flowering, and prune lightly.

What it feeds

The bloom lands in March and April, ahead of nearly every other tree, and its value is almost entirely about that timing.

Long-tongued bees are the main pollinators: bumblebee queens founding colonies, mason bees, and carpenter bees, all of them foraging early with few alternatives. Several specialist bees collect from redbud. Early butterflies and hummingbirds take nectar.

It is a host plant for the Henry's elfin butterfly and for a number of moths.

Seed in the pods is taken by songbirds and by small mammals through winter, and the heart-shaped leaves turn clear gold in fall.

Living with it

Deer browse young trees.

The flowers are edible and are sometimes scattered on salads, with a mild pea flavor.

Many selections are sold: weeping forms, and purple- or gold-leaved cultivars such as Forest Pansy and Rising Sun. As with other native shrubs and trees, altered leaf pigmentation can reduce how usable the foliage is to leaf-feeding insects, so the straight species is the better choice where habitat is the goal.

Sources: USDA PLANTS Database (native range); Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin (species profile and provenance); Xerces Society (early season bee forage and specialist bees); Mt. Cuba Center (native cultivar trials and insect use).

It’s showy, good fall color, and easy to grow.

Where it grows

Eastern Redbud is native to the Northeast. In the wild you’ll find it across Alabama · Arkansas · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · Florida · Georgia · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa and 32 more states. Always confirm it suits your specific county with your state native plant society before planting.

Regional Garden has written state guides covering Eastern Redbud in 42 of them so far.

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