USDA Plants Database
NWF Native Gardening and Invasive Plants Guide
Eastern Redbud
Cercis canadensis (Fabaceae family)
Native Range:
New Jersey to central Florida and westward to south Texas.
Habit:
Small, multi-branched tree with a wide rounded or flat-topped crown.
Culture:
Performs well in sun or light shade, great for a woodland or naturalized situation. Does well in all types of soil, but avoid planting permanently in wet soil. Does best when planted as balled and burlaped young trees in spring or fall.
Leaves:
Leaves emerge as reddish-purple and change to a deep lustrous green in summer. Mature leaves are heart shaped. Fall color is variable and can range from greenish to bright yellow.
Flowers:
Very showy pinkish-purple flowers in early spring before leaves emerge. Flowers are produced along the older trunks in clusters of four to eight.
Fruit:
Produces two- to three-inch pods, which are reddish-green and change to brown in mid-October. Redbuds often re-seed themselves.
Wildlife Value:
Flowers visited by bees. Leaves eaten by deer. Seeds eaten by birds.
This small tree is one of the most handsome of our native trees. An eastern redbud would make a great addition to a naturalized or woodland garden setting. There are several new cultivars commercially available.
Where to see eastern redbuds at the Zoo:
You can see redbuds across from the Small Mammal House and behind the Invertebrate Exhibit.
References:
Wasowski, S. and A. Wasowski. Gardening with Native Plants of the South. 1994. Taylor Publishing Company. Dallas, TX.
