Highlighting the Beautiful Eastern Redbud

This spring, there is a brief and spectacular sight to see right in the urban areas of Pittsburgh.

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has been planting Eastern redbud trees in Pittsburgh since 2016. Their blooming period varies slightly from year to year, but generally begins in early to mid-April and lasts for two to three weeks.

The Conservancy has planted over a quarter-million trees of many species, together with our partners, across Western Pennsylvania. Many are in rural areas, along banks of rivers and streams to help with stream health, but more than 41,000 have been planted in Pittsburgh neighborhoods and other urban communities in the region as street trees or in urban park settings.

The Eastern redbud plantings have been a special tree-planting project, focused along Pittsburgh’s riverbanks and settings with views of the rivers, so that as they mature there will be sweeping views along the river slopes of the redbud’s pink blooms. They have been planted as a part of a mix of other tree species native to Western Pennsylvania, so that there will be a healthy species variety and not a monoculture of one species. But the predominant species in these plantings has been redbud, to provide their beautiful spring color. Many have reached sufficient maturity to bloom abundantly.

Places to see the redbud plantings include the Three Rivers Heritage Trail along the North Shore of the Allegheny River between the 31st Street Bridge and the Kamin Science Center. Along this three-mile stretch, there are concentrations of redbuds and complementary species along River Avenue, North Shore Riverfront Park, and the Great Lawn near Mr. Rogers’ Memorial and Acrisure Stadium. Parking for this hike is along River Avenue and on Washington’s Landing.

Other locations with high redbud concentrations include Point State Park and the South Side near Highmark Stadium.

For more information about where to see the redbuds, visit WaterLandLife.org/Redbuds or call 412-586-2386.