I have one in my front yard, which is also hotter than Hades, and it's thriving quite nicely. Mine is a bush form. It's kind of a slow grower, but worth the wait IMO.

Some of the cons to consider is that it is deciduous so it will be bare in winter except for the the brown seedpods which hang on the bare branches all winter.
It's also a favorite with leafcutter bees (at least in my yard), so by mid to late summer, many of the leaves have perfect half circles chewed out of them.

wanda

I have a western redbud tree in my xeriscape garden -- what a beautiful tree it is! Ditto on the leafcutter bees, but I think that's one of the nifty wonders of nature, and it doesn't look bad at all. It thrives in hideous heat and blazing sun, doesn't ever look thirsty or tired, the leaves are lovely and the flowers are enchanting. I highly recommend it! I checked out the eastern redbud but was told by my nursery person that it wasn't a great choice for my neck of the woods (very hot, dry hilly area).

I have 6 in my front yard. They're quite nice. It really is a large shrub that can be pruned into tree shape. C. canadensis is more treelike. They do need some water though, as they are found in nature in riverbed areas.

Since we live in Mountain View (south of San Francisco, north of San Jose), I don't know how relevant our experience is. But we're also very partial to native plants & planted a Western Redbud in our small front yard (strip along driveway) some years back. It has been terrific, a un-fussy multiple-stemmed small tree that is quite attractive all year long (IMHO). We've read that it needs cold temperatures in order to flower, so that might be an issue in S. CA. Here, the magenta flowers make for a brief but spectacular show of color. It is hard to understand why Western Redbud is so infrequently used.

Best of luck with your yard,
Elsa

Guess what? We live in Fresno zone9. I have a 15ft Redbud I grew from a seed off a tree I found. Dont bother with the Eastern. Western is the native here. Redbuds grow wild in the foothills here & dont require much water once established. They dont require much cold to set blossums either. Mine is a bushy tree but def. a tree. There are lots of large redbud trees around here in yards some with multi trunks. I now have 2 other from volunteer last year which I am cultivating. They are great trees & you will love them. If you want to try another nice drought tolerant but evergreen look at 'brachychiton populneus' Good luck

We have two in front, and we love 'em.

Here is the SF East Bay, I have one that is doing nicely after just a year. Planted it bare-root, and at first it looked like a dead stick. A year and a half later, it is shaping up to be a nice, multi-branch tree. One odd thing, though - this week it flowered. Was it that cold this August?? It did have a small show of flowers in spring, but now there are lots, along with the leaves. Anyone else notice this?

I planted a western redbud in my front yard three years ago. It hasnt grown at all and it loose its leave and then flowers and buds twice a year. The place it is growing is under a very dense deciduous tree. In the summer it is very shady except in the morning for a couple of hours perhaps. In the winter it is in full sun. I am wondering if this has something to do with the confused habits.

does anyone have a picture? they have just planted one in our HOA but I am not sure it the California native. leaves are heart shaped and rather large