Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 41 ecoregions — 38 climate-resilient through 2070 · 1 suited today · 2 newly possible by 2070. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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Blue Mountains forests

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Chilean Matorral

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun / Part shade

Water

Low water

Spacing

180"

Habit

Multi-stemmed deciduous native large shrub or small tree with a rounded, spreading to vase form

Care tips

•

Give it full sun and well-drained soil; once established it is drought-tolerant and dislikes rich, constantly wet conditions.

•

Site it where it can stay — like most redbuds it resents root disturbance after establishment.

•

Leave the burgundy seed pods for winter interest and the standing structure for native-bee nesting.

Lifecycle

Planting

Plant in spring or fall in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soil. NC State Extension reports it tolerates clay soils, dry soils, and occasional flooding; good drainage is preferred. A drought-adapted native of dry western slopes once established.

Transplanting

Move young, container-grown plants while dormant; like most redbuds it resents root disturbance once established, so site it where it can stay.

Early growth

Water through the first one to two seasons to establish, then taper off — this is a low-water native that does not want rich, constantly wet conditions.

Maturity

Mature plants reach 15 to 25 feet tall and wide (NC State Extension) as a rounded, spreading shrub or small tree. Spring flowers are followed by flat 2-4 inch legume pods that ripen burgundy-red and persist.

Propagation

Seed is the standard path and benefits from scarification and cold stratification to break the hard-coat and embryo dormancy typical of the pea family. Verify cultivar / patent status before propagating named selections.

Pollination

Self-fertile

Insect-pollinated pea-family flowers. NC State Extension states the nectar attracts butterflies and bees, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags the species as a nectar source with special value to native bees and bumble bees. Like other redbuds the flowers are visited and pollinated by bees rather than requiring a separate pollinizer plant.

Plants don't grow alone

Larval host

Moth

Io moth (Automeris io)

UF/IFAS lists Cercis (redbud) as an Io moth host; western redbud (Cercis occidentalis) is a genus-level inference, not species-cited.

Nectar forage

Bee

European honeybee (Apis mellifera)

NC State Extension reports the flower nectar attracts bees; the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags the species as a nectar source. (Honey bee is the closest cataloged generalist bee; native and bumble bees are the primary documented visitors.)

Nectar forage

Bee

Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens)

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags Cercis occidentalis as having special value to bumble bees. (Bombus impatiens is the cataloged bumble bee stand-in; the documented value is to bumble bees as a group on the species’ western range.)

Shelter / habitat

Bee

Leafcutter bees (Megachile spp.)

Shelter / habitat

Bee

Stem-nesting native bees (multiple genera (Ceratina, Hylaeus, Osmia, etc.))

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents the species as providing nesting materials/structure for native bees; NC State Extension likewise notes native bees use this plant for nesting materials.

For people

Not eaten by humans

Grown as an ornamental native shrub or small tree for its spring flowers and wildlife value, not as a food crop. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center notes that indigenous peoples historically used the bark and young shoots in basketry and the wood for bows.

Native range

Native across 3 US states.

AHS heat range

4-11

Native ecoregions

Naturally belongs in 11 ecoregions — its native range crosses a state or province each one spans (not necessarily this exact habitat).

Arizona Mountains forests

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California coastal sage and chaparral

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Chihuahuan desert

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Klamath-Siskiyou forests

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Mojave desert

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Northern California coastal forests

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Sierra Nevada forests

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Sonoran desert

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Climate notes

•

NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox lists Cercis orbiculata (Western redbud, a synonym of Cercis occidentalis) for USDA hardiness zones 6a-9b, at 15-25 ft tall and wide, in full sun to partial shade, in moist to occasionally dry well-drained soil.

•

NC State Extension reports it tolerates clay soils, dry soils, and occasional flooding; scale and blight are occasional problems.

•

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents the native distribution as northern California east to southern Utah and south to southern Arizona, at 500-6000 ft elevation, blooming March through May.

In the designer

Growth over time

180-300" tall · 180-300" spread

Mature 15-25 ft rounded shrub or small tree with reliable spring bloom.

Design roles: Focal point · Structure · Pollinator

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

Western redbud

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations