​With spring just around the corner, Athens is in for a colorful transformation any day now. Between the various city-scaping, crepe myrtles, Bradford pears, and other flowering trees, everywhere you look you’ll see flowers blooming. But today we’re here to talk about one of the prettiest flowering trees of all: the Eastern redbud. 

​Scientifically known as Cercis canadensis, and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Judas tree, the Eastern redbud is a medium-sized species famous for its stunning display of pinkish-purple blooms. Though they don’t offer much in the way of fall color, these trees are still highly popular for ornamental use in backyards and parking lots alike, thanks to their stunning spring display and low-effort maintenance. 

​To start, they aren’t picky about their soil. Eastern redbuds can thrive in acidic, alkaline, loamy, moist, rich, sandy, well-drained and clay soils, making them well-suited to the Georgia red clay found everywhere in this area. 

​They prefer full sun to partial shade, needing about 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight a day to thrive – not a big ask here in the South. Their moderate watering requirements once established are usually met by the average rainfall here, so beyond watering when you first plant one, you don’t have to worry about them much.

​Eastern redbuds are also one of the faster-growing tree species, so you won’t have to wait long for your landscape design to come together. You will easily see between 1 to 2 feet of height growth per year until your tree reaches maturity. You won’t have to wait long for flowers, either, as these trees can start showing off as early as four years old!

​On average, Eastern redbuds will top out around 20 to 30 feet tall, with a similar crown spread averaging 25 to 35 feet wide. This makes them the perfect size for the average front or backyard – big enough that you can’t miss it, but small enough that you don’t have to fear it falling on your house or shed!

​Most Eastern redbuds will feature one or more short trunks with a tall, rounded crown (sometimes compared to the shape of an umbrella). The crown is comprised of visually engaging, zig-zagging branches and twigs.

​The leaves of the Eastern redbud are idyllically heart-shaped and average between 3 to 5 inches long, putting them squarely on the larger end of the leaf size spectrum. When they first emerge in their alternating pattern, they range from deep red to reddish-brown in color before turning dark green for the summer. In the fall, they pale to a green-ish yellow.  

​The bark of the Eastern redbud is generally gray with scales, giving the trunk and thicker branches some interesting texture to show off in the colder months. New growth comes in dark reddish-brown to black, setting up the perfect contrasting background for the real star of the show: the flowers. 

​As early as April, the Eastern redbud beings to develop pea-like flowers that range from light pink to pinkish-purple in color, often with varying shades present on a single petal. As a ramiflorous species, the flowers and fruit grow on bare branches, usually before any leaves appear. With no green to break up the view, the Eastern redbud in full bloom presents a stunning picture of bright pink purple flowers that stand out starkly against their darker branches. 

​These pretty flowers yield brownish-black pods, known as legumes, that average 2 to 3 inches long. Often, these seed pods will linger on the tree well into the winter, before finally dropping to be dispersed by local wildlife. 

Sources:
Arbor Day Foundation
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest

​Think about Savannah, Georgia – what do you see? If you’re anything like us, that answer starts with live oaks and ends with Spanish moss. There’s nothing more integral to the aesthetic of the Georgia coast than those ancient trees, with their graceful, sweeping branches spreading far and wide, draped in swathes of delicate, fluffy Spanish moss. It’s no surprise, then, that one of these stunning eldritch figures has been declared a national landmark. 

​The Candler Oak is estimated to be between 350 and 450 years old, making it one of the oldest living landmarks in the area. It stands over 54 feet tall, with branches stretching over 110 feet wide. The trunk itself is more than 5 feet across! 

​But the age and stature of this magnificent specimen isn’t the only thing that makes it special. Back in the early 1800s, the tree stood on the Savannah House and Hospital grounds. The picturesque oak was a statement piece, making the hospital easily identifiable. During the Civil War, while the hospital was used by the Confederacy, the tree protected POWs in stockades built under its branches. The hospital returned to being a hospital after the war, now called the Warren A. Candler Hospital – hence the name of the tree today, the Candler Oak. 

​The grounds surrounding the tree were developed alongside the rest of Savannah. Construction, parking lots, foot traffic, automobiles, exhaust, and the general impact of daily business activity started to take its toll. The Candler Oak went into severe decline in the mid-1900s, with its life expectancy down to a mere 20 years by the 1970s. 

​Luckily, the citizens of Savannah swept in to save the day. Concerned for the state of this historic tree, they formed the Savannah Tree Foundation in 1982. Its mission? To protect and preserve Savannah’s trees amidst its urban development. Their first project was fighting to protect the Candler Oak, which they hoped to save. The foundation made history when they secured a conservation easement for the oak in 1984, the first conservation easement granted for a single tree in the nation. 

​This monumental victory protected the 6,804 square foot area surrounding the tree from further development, which was the first step in ensuring the tree’s survival. The owner of the hospital property at the time, a corporation called Huntingdon II, Ltd., donated the easement to the Savannah Tree Foundation that same year so they could take the proper steps necessary to revive the oak. Huntingdon II, Ltd. continued to support the tree’s rehabilitation monetarily in the years to come. 

​The first thing the Savannah Tree Foundation did was dismantle the asphalt paved over the tree’s root system. Then, a strict regimen of watering, fertilizing, and maintenance was established to help the oak bounce back from its decline. Under the close eye of the foundation (and with the continued patronage of the Candler Hospital) the Candler Oak began to thrive again. Arborists today have issued the tree a clean bill of health, predicting its lifespan to last well into the end of the 21st century.

​ In 2001, the Georgia Urban Forest Council registered the Candler Oak as a Georgia Landmark and Historic Tree, granting the already-popular landmark statewide recognition and protection. The National Register of Historic Trees recognized the Candler Oak in 2004. 

In 2012, the Savannah Law School purchased the property on which the Candler Oak’s easement resides. The school named the tree their official school logo, and erected a fence around the tree to preserve enough space for the lowest branches to continue to grow. They also added security surveillance against vandalism. 

After the Savannah Law School closed in 2018, the land the Candler Oak resides on was purchased by the Savannah College of Art and Design, better known as SCAD. To this day, the tree enjoys 24-hour surveillance, fenced protection, plenty of growing space, and a regular maintenance schedule, making it one of the most pampered trees in the state. 

Sources:
Savannah Tree Foundation
Savannah Now
Savannah GA Visitors
Candler Oak Tree