Paulownia tomentosa (p.imperialis) empress tree, princess tree, foxglove tree
size/type
medium-sized tree,medium-sized tree
usual height
5-10m
usual width
2-6m
leaves
deciduous broadleaf
colour of leaves
flowers
showy
colour of flowers
blooming time
May-June
location
full sun
USDA zone (lowest)
5b (down to -27°C)
winter protection
for zone 5+6
for zone 7
categorized
Description of the plant:
One of the most magnificent trees of our climate comes from East Asia and is called the Princess Tree or Empress Tree or even Foxglove Tree. Its main feature is giant leaves which can be as much as 30 cm long and wide, very hairy, pale to deep green. Thanks to them empress trees are often mistaken for catalpas.Empress tree flowers when some 6-8 years old. The flower buds appear from end summer and take quite some to ripen – until early winter. They open in late spring into upright panicles of beautiful, fragrant, funnel-shaped flowers that are pinkish lilac on the outside and have yellow and purple marks inside. If you see a picture with blue flowers it is a computer-made forgery. The number of flowers is driven by the amount of heat and sun during summer, and partly by richness of the soil.
Empress tree grows fast and can be used as a large-leaved shrub or tree by pruning back to 2-3 buds every spring. This is the way of growing in areas with colder winters because severe frost may damage flower buds. But if you can find it a sheltered position or if you live in a zone with not so harsh frosts (6b and up) you can enjoy its flowers, too. Do not prune such plants then.
It needs deep, moist but well-drained soil, rich in humus and a sunny position. If grown for leaves use a quick-release fertilizer from spring to summer to enhance growth and to produce large leaves. If grown for flowers apply a slow-release fertilizer in spring. A few doses of selective fertilizer increasing flower growth are recommended from early to end of summer. Mature wood is hardy to -27°C (USDA zone 5b).
Last update 07-12-2008
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GLOSSARY
- STANDARD QUALITY - Plants of this group are 1st class quality with number of branches and overall density adequate to their size and age, considering they were container grown.
- DE LUXE QUALITY - This label guarantees a luxurious quality of manually selected plants that, compared to their height and age, are exceptionally dense and beautiful.
- EXTRA - These plants are usually mature and bigger specimens with exceptional overall appearance.
- STANDARD (as described in the plant form) means a tree with a trunk of 190-210 cm and a crown at the top, unless specified differently. The commercial size for trees is their girth measured in the height of 1m from ground.
- HOBBY - These plants are of the same quality as our standard-quality plants but younger and therefore cheaper.
- SHRUB - a woody plant with branches growing bushy from the ground level.
- HALF-STANDARD or MINI-STANDARD - a small tree with shorter trunk, its size is usually specified.
- FEATHERED - These are trees with branches growing already from the base of the trunk and up along the stem.
- GRASSES and PERENNIALS - Sizes given usually read the diameter of the pot or the clump, as specified.
