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Paulownia tomentosa
Also called Princess tree, Foxglove Tree, Royal Paulownia, Empresstree, Foxglovetree, Karritree, Karri Tree
Princesstree is a fast-growing deciduous hardwood tree native to central and eastern China and Korea, grown for its fragrant violet-blue spring flowers and very large leaves. The key to growing it is full sun and plenty of room, as it is invasive in parts of North America and Europe.
Paulownia tomentosa, common names princess tree, empress tree, or foxglove-tree, is a deciduous hardwood tree in the family Paulowniaceae, native to central and eastern China and the Korean Peninsula. It is an extremely fast-growing tree with seeds that disperse readily and is considered an invasive exotic species in North America that has undergone naturalisation in large areas of the Eastern US, even though seed viability may be low under harsh conditions. P. tomentosa has also been introduced to Western and Central Europe, and is establishing itself as a naturalised species there as well.
Paulownia tomentosa is cultivated as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Paulownia catalpifolia · Paulownia elongata · Dragontree · Sapphire dragon tree · Paulownia
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Paulownia tomentosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
