Cercis siliquastrum

[Luisd]

This tree starts to bloom in march and ends now, when leaf sprouts, and the oldest also bloom in the trunk.

[Xerarch]

Nice pics, haven't seen Cercis bloom on the trunk like that before, most Cercis around here are canadensis, in the western States I've seen occidentalis in the wild, they're all beautiful trees.

[fastfeat]

Nice. This species is seldom grown in SoCal (not cold enough, I think). Supposedly grows in NorCal, but I haven't seen it personally.

[JasonD]

I've seen a majestic old tree at a noted garden near Occidental in Sonoma County, California. As a tree it has greater potential here I think than C. canadensis and certainly the native C. occidentals, which is mostly a shrub.

Given its native habitat, SoCal should be a fine climate for it, at least the parts of SoCal that get some winter chill.

[Brian Bruning]

All three species are grown here in coastal northern California. The native is more of a shrub but it and the Judas Tree are quite drought tolerant. There are varieties from TX, OK and NE Mexico that are too. The eastern type usually needs regular garden water. All are excellent trees and quite suitable for locations under power lines as they don't grow tall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cercis_canadensis