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Tips
By Mrs FM
Hartley.
Unusual
& Old
Fashioned Fruit
Trees.
Unusual
Vegetables,
Herbs & Other
Edible Plants.
Environmental
Issues And Going Green.
Vines
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Books
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Alan J Hartley
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Tree Project.
Paulownia Tomentosa.
Paulownia Tomentosa is
native to China, but is becoming naturalised in much of Europe. This
deciduous tree is very fast growing and large reaching up to some 80
feet in height with a broad canopy. It is generally pest free and also a
very tough tree being able to survive wildfires and regenerate a new
trunk from the roots upwards after the tree has been burned down. Partly
due to its indestructibility the tree is becoming invasive in north
America in areas where it has been planted.
Commonly called the “Fox Glove Tree,” due to its flowers being
reminiscent of those of the Fox Glove, it is also known as “The Empress
Tree,” and in Japan, as “The Princess Tree.” This comes from the
tradition of planting seeds when a couple have daughter. By the time the
daughter is ready to marry, the tree has grown and is felled with the
wood being made into a dresser as a wedding gift. Not only is the
Hardwood Timber of Paulownia useful, but its leaves are very good at
absorbing pollutants and give a high carbon capture.
The Heart shaped leaves on the young shoots are bigger than those on
mature wood and can be up to 24 cm across. For this reason and due to
its size, it is quite common to Coppice or Pollard Paulownia thus
causing the tree to produce even bigger leaves that are similar to those
of the Catalpa to which it is related. If you want to prune them they
are best pruned in late autumn to slow their growth. Pruning will
however, stop flowering as the Paulownia only produces flowers on mature
wood. Their violet/blue flowers come in the spring and are very fragrant
appearing in panicles before the leaves. Thousands of tiny, winged seeds
are the result of flowering and are produced in a poisonous, dry, fruit
capsule about 1 ˝ inch across full of seeds. Trees can be easily grown
from seeds, but young trees are susceptible to frost whereas older trees
are much hardier.
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