Western Redbud
Cercis occidentalis
A small California native redbud that smothers its bare branches in magenta flowers in early spring, a draw for bees and hummingbirds. It's drought tolerant once established and adapts to most soils that drain. It flowers best where winters turn cool, so it isn't one for the frost-free coast.
- Mature size
- 16 × 13 ft
- 5 × 4 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 6a–9b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Dry
- Blooms
- Mar–Apr
Western Redbud at its mature size
A mature Western Redbud grows 12 to 30 feet tall and 10 to 25 feet wide, taller than most people.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: San Marcos Growers, Calscape.
Through the year
What Western Redbud looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
Dormant · Dec–Feb
Bare branches with dry reddish seed pods.
In flower · Mar–Apr
Bare branches covered in magenta-pink pea flowers.
In leaf · May–Sep
Round blue-green heart-shaped leaves.
Fall · Oct–Nov
Leaves turned yellow, flat seed pods hanging.
Photos
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Growing Western Redbud
- Grows well in
- The desert Southwest and California.
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Good for
- Small space, drought tolerant, and pollinators
- Leaves
- Drops its leaves in winter
- Native to
- California and Southwestern United States
Spacing
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Western Redbud, that’s about 13 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Western Redbud in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other redbuds
Western Redbud
Flame Thrower Redbud
Eastern Redbud
Forest Pansy RedbudAll drawn to the same scale.