Mexican redbud is recognized for its heart-shaped leaves and vibrant pink to purplish flowers that bloom early in spring before the foliage appears. Native to Mexico’s diverse climates, it thrives in a variety of soils, showing resilience and adaptability. This small to medium-sized tree adds ornamental value to gardens, celebrating the changing seasons with significant foliage transformation.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Cercis canadensis, the eastern redbud or Mexican redbud is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, native to eastern North America from southern Michigan south to central Mexico, west to New Mexico. Species thrive as far west as California and as far north as southern Ontario. It is the state tree of Oklahoma. The prevalence of the so-called “Columbus strain” has seen the residents of Columbus, Wisconsin embrace the plant into their city’s identity. Known as the “Redbud City,” the town hosts “Redbud Day” annually the Saturday before Mother’s Day, organizing a variety of themed events to recognize the tree.
The eastern redbud typically grows to 6–9 m (20–30 ft) tall with an 8–10 m (26–33 ft) spread. It generally has a short, often twisted trunk and spreading branches. A 10-year-old tree will generally be around 5 m (16 ft) tall. The bark is dark in color, smooth, later scaly with ridges somewhat apparent, sometimes with maroon patches. The twigs are slender and zigzag, nearly black in color, spotted with lighter lenticels. The winter buds are tiny, rounded and dark red to chestnut in color. The leaves are alternate, simple, and heart shaped with an entire margin, 7–12 cm (3–4.5 in) long and wide, thin and papery, and may be slightly hairy below.
The flowers are showy, light to dark magenta pink in color, 1.5 cm (1⁄2 in) long, appearing in clusters from spring to early summer, on bare stems before the leaves, sometimes on the trunk itself. There are cultivars with white flowers. The flowers are pollinated by long-tongued bees such as blueberry bees and carpenter bees. Short-tongued bees cannot reach the nectaries. The fruit are flattened, dry, brown, pea-like pods, 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long that contain flat, elliptical, brown seeds 6 mm (1⁄4 in) long, maturing in August to October.
- Bark: Red brown, with deep fissures and scaly surface. Branchlets at first lustrous brown, later become darker.
- Wood: Dark reddish brown; heavy, hard, coarse-grained, not strong. Sp. gr., 0.6363; weight of cu. ft. 39.65 lbs.
- Winter buds: Chestnut brown, obtuse, one-eighth inch long.
- Cotyledons oval, flat
- Leaves: Alternate, simple, heart-shaped or broadly ovate, two to five inches long, five to seven-nerved, cordate or truncate at the base, entire, acute. They come out of the bud folded along the line of the midrib, tawny green; when they are full grown they become smooth, dark green above, paler beneath. In autumn they turn bright clear yellow. Petioles slender, terete, enlarged at the base. Stipules caducous.
- Flowers: April, May, before and with the leaves, papilionaceous. Perfect, rose color, borne four to eight together, in fascicles which appear at the axils of the leaves or along the branch and sometimes on the trunk itself.
- Calyx: Dark red, campanulate, oblique, five-toothed, imbricate in bud.
- Corolla: Papilionaceous, petals five, nearly equal, pink or rose color, upper petal the smallest, enclosed in the bud by the wings, and encircled by the broader keel petals.
- Stamens: Ten, inserted in two rows on a thin disk, free, the inner row rather shorter than the others.
- Pistil: Ovary superior, inserted obliquely in the bottom of the calyx tube, stipulate; style fleshy, incurved, tipped with an obtuse stigma.
- Fruit: Legume, slightly stipulate, unequally oblong, acute at each end. Compressed, tipped with the remnants of the style, straight on upper and curved on the lower edge. Two and a half to three inches long, rose color, full grown by midsummer, falls in early winter. Seeds ten to twelve, chestnut brown, one-fourth of an inch long.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
Eastern Redbud responds well to direct sunlight and does best in partial shade, whereas Western Redbud thrives in full sun. That’s why mexican redbud is found in a variety of moist, well-drained soils, and grows more densely on sunny slopes where it enjoys more intense sunlight with less plant competition.
Temperature
Mexican redbud adapts to wide fluctuations in temperature and growing environment, ranging from -28 ℃ in the winter to 32 ℃ during summer. To induce flowering, mexican redbud needs temperatures below -2 ℃. Some research reports it can withstand 40 ℃. Mexican redbud grows in areas with an annual rainfall of 51 to 127 cm. It needs sufficient water for its growth and is somewhat resistant to drought.
Watering
Eastern Redbud trees planted in full sun respond well to watering. Keep the soil moist during the summer. Apply a little watering to young plants initially; their watering need will increase as they grow. For better moisture preservation, polythene mulch can be spread on the beds, making holes in the mulch at the point of plant emergence.
Western Redbud is more tolerant of prolonged periods of drought but responds well to watering during dry conditions. For more vigorous, lush green sprouting, water regularly if planted in direct sunlight.
Soil
Eastern Redbud can well grow outdoors in moist, loamy, or sandy soils. Its occurrence on slopes with more sunlight is prevalent. It is acclimatized to a wide range of pH; however, it thrives best with a pH range of 6.6-7.8 or above. It doesn’t tolerate inundated sites, poorly aerated soils, or sandy soils.
Western Redbud is adapted to grow in a wide variety of soils, including course and nutrient-deficient soils that are well-drained. It grows as an understory cover tree and is fairly tolerable to lime and acidic soils. It also tolerates alkaline soil and clay; its best pH range is 5.5-7.8.
Fertilizing
Being a member of the pea or Leguminosae family, mexican redbud can fix nitrogen, so there is no need to add nitrogen fertilizer to these plants because excessive nitrogen application invites caterpillars and sucking pests to your plants. Add some compost in the soil before planting to help extend moisture retention.
At the time of planting, mix phosphorus supplementation with planting soil to help roots develop. As mexican redbud is primarily planted due to its clustering flowering patterns, boost flowering by applying fertilizer rich in boron to leaves at the start of the spring.
Planting Instructions
Mexican redbud is fairly easy to propagate by direct sowing. It can also be grown in a container during spring or fall.
Collect seeds from pods with a dark brown or reddish-brown color, as this indicates the maturity of the seed pods. Preserve seeds in an airtight container at 3 ℃. The hard outer seed covering requires seed scarification and stratification to break dormancy. Put seeds in steaming hot water for 30 minutes and follow moist sand stratification for 6-8 weeks at 5 ℃. Seeds are now ready to be planted during the current fall or upcoming spring.
Dig the soil to a depth of 30 cm; make a fine tilth that allows the young roots to easily penetrate it. Mexican redbud has a tap root system that grows quickly during the first year. Bed size can be adjusted depending on the available space. During late spring, put your seeds in the bed to a depth of 4 to 5 cm and cover gently with garden soil. Seedlings or already growing plants can also be planted in prepared beds adopting the “balled and burlapped” method.
Pruning
Mexican redbud requires regular pruning for pedestrian clearance beneath the canopy, as it usually branches low on the trunk. The tree grows in a multi-trunk fashion that can be trained to continue with a single dominating trunk. Trees must be pruned to remove overcrowded branches, weak branches, forks, and dead limbs to give its canopy a rounded, vase shape that adds value to your garden landscape.
Prune at the appearance of new leaves or in the late fall. Reduce the number of lateral branches and maintain a reasonable distance between them.
III. Uses and Benefits
- Ornamental uses
Cercis canadensis is grown in parks and gardens, with several cultivars being available. The cultivars ‘Forest Pansy’ and ‘Ruby Falls’ have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017). Both are cultivated for their showy purple leaves, which turn brilliant shades of red and orange in the fall (autumn). ‘Ruby Falls’ is a weeping form.
In the wild, eastern redbud is a frequent native understory tree in mixed forests and hedgerows. It is also much planted as a landscape ornamental plant.
- Culinary uses
The flowers can be eaten fresh or fried.
In some parts of southern Appalachia, green twigs from the eastern redbud are used as seasoning for wild game such as venison and opossum. Because of this, in these mountain areas the eastern redbud is sometimes known as the spicewood tree.
Native Americans consume redbud flowers raw or boiled, and eat roasted seeds. Analysis of nutritional components in edible parts of eastern redbud reported that the flower extract contains anthocyanins, green developing seeds contain proanthocyanidin, and linolenic, α-linolenic, oleic and palmitic acids are present in seeds.
Find Where to Buy the Best Mexican Redbud (Cercis canadensis var. mexicana)
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