Western Redbuds Cercis occidentalis are blooming!  A California native you can find them throughout California and east into Utah.  These beautiful, deciduous, multi-branched, clumping trees reach 8 to 20 feet in height and can spread to 16 feet.  Usually 6-12 magenta-colored, pea-shaped flowers emerge in the spring on bare reddish-purplish branches before the nearly round or heart-shaped bronzy leaves put in their appearance.  These tiny leaves turn green and grow to about 3 inches.  In the summer, flattened reddish pods containing 3 or 4 seeds develop.  In the fall, the seed pods mature, and the tree leaves turn to red and orange. Western Redbuds require good drainage, appreciate slightly acidic soil, and do well in full sun or partial shade.  The buds that are just now appearing can be added to salads or even pickled.  Native Americans used the tree bark to make a tea to treat diarrhea and dysentery and wove the bark of the new shoots into baskets.  Carpenter bees which are great tomato pollinators use small circular punches of the leaf edges for their nests. These trees also attract hummingbirds, songbirds and butterflies.   Beauty and function –redbuds are the best of both worlds.

That said, I killed 2 of these trees, before I finally gave up on the native and planted an Eastern Redbud Cercis canadensis.  Eastern Redbuds are native to the Eastern United States from New Jersey to Central Florida and as far west as Nebraska. They sport straight trunks and are not clumping. They can reach to 30 feet and spread to 35 feet. They are not as picky about soil, which is probably why mine has survived in alkaline soil on a south-facing slope.  Mine also tends to bloom later.  When it does, the flowers and leaves look similar to the Western Redbud, and it still attracts all the birds and pollinators.

Redbuds are native to many parts of the U.S and the world, including Oklahoma (where it is the state tree), Texas, New Mexico, Mexico, Southern Europe, Western Asia and China.  A nearby Vacaville subdivision was planted with Afghan Redbuds Cercis griffithii. (The nursery tags were left on the trees.)  Cercis siliquastrum is found in the Middle East, where some call it the Judas Tree, because it is believed to have been the tree on which Judas Iscariot in the New Testament hung himself after betraying Jesus.  It is said the tree blushed with shame after this occurred.

If you are looking for a truly beautiful tree that provides year-round interest and attracts pollinators, this is the one!