Give Monthly
to GWF

Make a One-time Donation

Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Native Plants < Native Plant Database < Cercis canadensis

Eastern Redbud
Redbud, Judas Tree
Cercis canadensis

In north Georgia, redbud usually begins blooming in March or April, but it can start as early as February in south Georgia. Because it blooms so early in the season, redbud plays an important role in early brood rearing for honeybees. It is also visited for nectar by many early-season butterflies.

Redbud’s blooms are always profuse. Crowds of pink blossoms cover the leafless twigs and branches, and even heavy old trunks up to 8" in diameter are known to sprout flowers. Though trees always stay rather small, they become wonderfully gnarled and ancient looking with age, taking on a sort of Bonsai quality. Redbud works beautifully as a single specimen arching gracefully over a patio, or it can be planted in groups at the edge of a woodland area. For a real show in spring, try interspersing redbud with white flowering dogwood or underplanting it with early-spring wildflowers such as spring beauty, wood anemone, bloodroot, or trout lily.

Family:  Fabaceae (Legume Family)

Description: Small deciduous tree with 3 to 5" heart-shaped leaves. Emergent leaves are wine colored, turning dark green at maturity. Fall leaf color is soft yellow. The small, pea-like, early-spring flowers range in color from light purple to rosy pink to magenta. Bean-like seedpods mature in October and persist through winter.

Size: 20-30’ high and 25 to 35’ wide.

Habit: Small, full-crowned tree with arching branches. Trunks tend to divide very close to the ground.

Growth Rate: Medium; 7 to 10 feet in 5 years.

Light: Full sun to part shade.

Planting and Care: Transplant as a young tree in spring or fall into moist, well-drained, acid or alkaline soils.

Ornamental Value: Features include a gracefully arching form, showy pink flowers in very early spring, and yellow leaves in fall.

Landscape Usage: Plant as a single specimen near the patio or deck or in groups along a woodland edge.

Wildlife Benefits: Petals are the primary larval food for Henry’s elfin butterfly. Bees use the flowers for honey, and birds eat the seeds.

Native Habitat: Found throughout Georgia in fertile, moist bottomlands and on drier slopes and ridges. More common in the Piedmont and mountains than the Coastal Plain.

Propagation: Stratified, scarified seed.

Text and photo by Leslie Kimel, Georgia Wildlife Federation