Fact Sheet on 

email: uge1067@arches.uga.edu

REDBUD TREE 

By Michele Browne

Horticulture Program Assistant

Redbud:  Local Native Makes Good!

Have flashes of mauve-pink been catching your eye as you travel the north Georgia springtime landscape?  Well, say hello to a wonderful native tree that has become more and more popular for use in home landscapes.  It’s called Redbud or scientifically “Cercis canadensis.”  Redbuds are most noticeable in the spring when they bloom profusely.  But this hardy small tree deserves our attention at other times of the year for other reasons.  As a native, it naturally grows well here, has few pests, and tolerates drought conditions.  Its size recommends it for many uses including as a specimen tree (as in the photo above), in the shrub border, or as a street tree.  Showy new cultivars offer color and other features not found in the wild. 

Plant Facts:

Common Name:  Redbud

Scientific Name:  Cercis canadensis

Zone:  4 to 8

Family:  Fabaceae

Range:  Eastern United States, northern Mexico

Height:  20 to 30 feet

Spread:  25 to 35 feet

Bloom Color:  Mauve pink; white (cultivars)

Leaf  Shape:  Heart-shaped with a long pedicel (stem)

Sun:  Full sun to part shade

Water:  Medium moisture

Maintenance:  Low

Culture: 

The best environment for redbud is full sun to light shade in moist, well-drained soil, although it will grow in drier conditions.  It will not grow well in permanently wet or poorly drained soil.  The tree does not transplant easily so it should be planted when young.  Purchase from local sources to receive the most cold-hardy stock.

Redbuds receive their name from the dark maroon color of their buds, but most people will remember the tree in bloom.  Their pink pea-like flowers appear on bare branches and even on mature tree trunks.  However, the bloom is not the only interesting feature of the tree.  The leaves are a lovely heart shape with a long stem or pedicel.  This stem feature allows the leaves to flutter quite freely in even the smallest breeze.  Once you’ve identified your first redbud, you will be able to pick out others along the side of the road by the leaf alone.

                        Close-up of bloom.                                                       Redbud in natural setting.

Problems: 

Redbuds can be subject to damage by insect pests such as tree hoppers, caterpillars, scale, and leafhopper.  Diseases can include Verticillium wilt, leaf spots, and the worst disease, canker.  Serious damage by any of these pests will usually occur only in stressed trees.  Keep your tree vigorous with regular watering and feeding and by pruning out dead branches.  Consult your County Extension Office for advice on the correct way to plant a tree and the correct time of year to plant.

Cultivars:

There are many cultivars of redbud.  They exhibit improved vigor, more profuse bloom, or more interesting leaf color as compared to the tree found in the wild.  Three cultivars especially are worth seeking out from local nursery sources:

1).  ‘Alba’ or ‘Texas White’ for people who prefer a white bloom.

2).  ‘Forest Pansy’ for a maroon purple foliage.  Plantsman Michael Dirr describes the foliage as emerging “a screaming, shimmering, red-purple – changes to a more subdued color as the season progresses.”  Dirr lists Forest Pansy as one of his favorites for colored foliage.  

Sources:

Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, Michael A. Dirr, 1975.

Missouri Botanical Garden website:  www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/codea/H550.shtml