Texas Redbud, Mexican Redbud or Eastern Redbud: Which One for an Austin Yard?

There are a variety of options for redbuds. We typically plant the Texas variety, the native one. And I would say for the long term lifespan and growth rate, they kind of split the middle. Eastern redbuds are probably the most popular thing you’ll find in nurseries. They grow faster, ultimately get a little bit taller, also live a little bit shorter lifespan, and really appreciate more riparian environment in Central Texas. In the right spot, they’re amazing. And you can get varieties such as the Forest Pansy that’ll give you a brilliant red foliage in the spring before the summer heat turns the foliage to a rich green color. If you happen to be out on the west side of town deep in the hill country, a Mexican redbud may be a better choice. They tend to be a smaller tree, much slower growing, smaller foliage, but they’re better adapted to the harsh growing conditions. The Texas redbud fits the bill kind of down the middle. It’s not quite as tall as the eastern redbud at maturity, much faster growing than the Mexican redbud. And it’s our favorite one to plant and suitable for most suburban landscapes.

Redbuds have emerged as one of my favorite ornamental trees this late into my career. A grove of redbuds is spectacular in my opinion. When they’re mature, they’re tall enough to provide shade, and they fit the ornamental bill perfectly. A few weeks of beautiful flowers in the spring, some colorful emerging foliage shortly followed, good drought hardiness, so they stay lush and green through the summer. And in the fall, give a nice golden color for the fall leaf drop.

Ideal growing conditions for redbud is what we call forest edge. It would like to have some direct sun ideally in the morning, but if it has to be in the afternoon, that’s suitable as well. All day sun is tolerable if you have nice rich soil and adequate irrigation, but four to six hours of direct sun with filtered sun the rest of the day is better.

Like most ornamental trees, the redbud is somewhat short lived. Most will not live more than twenty to thirty years, I would call thirty the outside edge, and doing well. Most of them ultimately succumb to wood boring insects, and preventative treatments are not practical. They’re possible, but I don’t like putting insecticides down annually as a preventative for that sort of thing. And while the tree itself can be expected to die back in as little as fifteen years or maybe as long as thirty, when they do inevitably die, the rootstock will sprout new shoots from the base, and you get free replacements. So if you’re not picky and you’re just happy to get a new volunteer, they can be very long lived and permanent in the landscape. And for the short amount of time that you get them at large mature size, they are truly spectacular.