Eastern Redbud

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

Full sun to light shade, medium to moderately dry moisture, tolerates clay and rocky soils, drought-tolerant once established, pH 5.5–7.5.

20–30 feet tall by 25–35 feet wide; magenta-pink flowers in dense clusters directly on branches and trunk (cauliflory) in March–April before leaf-out; fruit is a flat brown pod 5–10 cm long containing 6–10 seeds, persisting on the tree through winter. Growth rate medium.

Seed germination requires scarification followed by cold stratification (60 days); easy from scarified seed.

Native region: Statewide in Tennessee, most abundant on moist to dry woodland edges, rocky slopes, and roadside corridors; one of the most visible native flowering trees in Middle Tennessee during March.

Cercis canadensis is the state flower of Oklahoma and one of the most recognizable spring-flowering trees in the I-65 corridor — roadsides through Columbia and Maury County are lined with it in late March. It is a nitrogen-fixing legume, with root nodules that improve soil fertility over time. Redbud is highly adaptable to Middle Tennessee's clay-dominant soils but does not tolerate prolonged standing water. Canker diseases (Botryosphaeria spp.) are the primary cause of decline — entering through wounds, drought stress, or mechanical injury. Verticillium wilt also occurs. The tree leafs out to a broad, flat-topped crown and the heart-shaped leaves turn yellow in fall. Henry's elfin (Callophrys henrici) butterfly larvae use redbud as a primary host.