Looking for seeds for a Empress Tree

I saw an ariticle in Birds & Blooms April/May 2002 that had an Empress Tree, Botanical name "Paulownia tomentosa" and was wondering if anyone had any seeds. This is a beautiful tree and very empressive.lol If someone has seeds contact me at baw75935@yahoo.com

Try PlantScout - http://davesgarden.com/ps/go/391/
There are three vendors that either have the plants or the seeds.
I've ordered these same seeds from J.L. Hudson this year. Only 1.50 for a pack plus some shipping.

lego_brickster - Did you have any luck with the seeds........ ? I've been looking at these and debating on whether to try with seeds or just buy a plant.....

Be VERY CAREFUL with this tree; this tree is VERY, VERY invasive wherever it is hardy enough to grow.

This tree does have beautiful flowers, but the tree produces billions of seeds and has become a hazard to the ecosystems in the East.

This is a very fast growing tree.
Thanks,
Mike

I ditto Mike....because of where you live you may want to chat with your local city arborist or even better your U.C. ag. agent, they will be able to tell you how that tree behaves in your neck of the woods. Karen :~D

I live in VA, and this tree is a real problem. It grows very fast and shades out natives. It does colonise and cover bare soil fairly quickly (not quite as fast as kudzu). Catalpa will grow in your area- it has similar blooms and is more restrained besides being native. There are several species. The major problem with it is that there are Catalpa rustlers out here- the wood is valuable, and there was a boom a few years back. People would come home and someone had removed their tree! Big ones!

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/trees-new/catalpa_speciosa.html (or search 'catalpa')

Susan K

By the way, J.L. Hudson seeds are now $2. a package. Still a good buy, but I waited until the price went up before I got my order done. Oh, well.

Prism

This message was edited Feb 26, 2005 11:06 AM

This message was edited Feb 26, 2005 11:06 AM

Prism...I would love to have some. Will check Address Exchange for your addy and get your sase off today. If you haven't put it in there please send it to me and I'll get it off to you. Thanks bunch. I have plenty of space so I don't think it will take over.

You're very welcome! I'll be looking for your envelope. And, yes my address is in the exchange.
Prism

This message was edited Jan 29, 2005 2:08 AM

Thanks for sharing Prism,
I got your addy and will put the envelope in the mail tomorrow..........

Brenda et al, listen to Mike and Karen and Susan. Unless your Texas or Kansas ranch is at least 500,000 square miles, this beast could take over in a decade. The seeds spread by wind and will grow in any available crevice or cranny. The only thing that keeps it in check up here in Illinois is winter injury. If it's not already established in your area, don't be the one to introduce it.

Check with a local reliable source like a university extension or the Texas Native Plant Society. Then, if they tell you what I expect, accept the seeds that were offered, burn them before they hatch, and plant something else.

By the way Susan, Paulownia (empress tree) rustling can be big business too. The wood is used ceremonially in Japan.

Guy S.

Sorry, didn't mean to do something wrong. I grew mine in pots. They die in the winter. Best to check your individual states for allowable things.
Prism

Yes, please check with your local city/county/state forestry office to see if there are any trees that are illegal to plant in your area. (In the city I live in, it's illegal to plant female ginkgo, cottonwood (either sex), Lombardy poplar and boxelder). You could face huge fines if the tree is illegal and it gets "away" from you. It's really best not to take a chance on something like this when the tree is known to be so invasive.
My .02
Thanks,
Mike

Brenda,

You can order empress tree seeds from here: www.seedrack.com
I have read that other people have had success here, and will be ordering some seeds from them myself soon.

I bought some tree seeds from Angelgrove www.trees-seeds.com and they nearly all germinated, but unfortunately the owner is sick :(

good luck,

Maureen

Sorry Prism, I didn't mean to say you were doing anything wrong. I just wanted to make sure that Brenda knew what she was dealing with. Actually, growing them in colder climates in pots or as dieback perennials that never reach seedbearing size sounds like the perfect compromise. In marginal climate areas the tree can be OK, but it can be very aggressive in warm climates like Texas if other conditions are suitable for it.
Guy S.

That's okay, Guy. I was just excited I had something someone wanted. People have been so generous to me.
You really do have to watch zones, though. Something invasive in one area isn't in another & vice versa. Most of the plants I am interested in won't survive our winters, so I have to grow them as annuals or bring them inside. You can only bring so much inside. : )
Thanks for making me feel better.
Prism

Join the club. We have three small greenhouses full of tropical and subtropical trees that move in and out every spring and fall. Among them are more than 200 warm-climate oak species, plus dozens of other tender trees I just "had" to propagate and study!

There are some priceless moments, like when the jade plant my grandmother started in the 1930s blooms every winter, as well as the Christmas cactus my Mom started before I was born. And this winter one of our 25-year-old agaves is finally blooming. Here it is, about a foot away from punching a hole in our two-story living room ceiling, and dripping nectar all over everything!

Guy S.

I didn't realize the rustling happened to Paulwonia also- they need to come get some from the road sides along I-64 between Richmond and Charlottesville- it's taking over!

I was reading bits of a book about weeds (in the bookstore at a Hort conference) and they had this tree listed, along with Norway and Amur maples. The book (and I looked at so many books I can't remember the title) said part of the reason the Empress tree is so successful is that it develops a toxicity in the root zone, like black walnuts- it poisons the soil so not much will grow near it. And that the seeds will spread at least 1/10th of a mile, as well as being transported by birds. The author said he was 1/10th of a mile from one and had a lot of seedlings every year from it.

This is a little scary! But Prism I'm still sending the sase for the seeds and will get it out today. I plan on planting in the edge of the woods which is on top of a hill. I guess it will take the bottom land over but that's fine cause it's just for the deer, squirrels, and ducks.lol I saw a pic of this tree and the leaves are huge!!! Got to have one (or hundreds-lol).

The chemical in Black Walnut is called juglan and once it's in the soil it is rather difficult to find plants that are resistant. I have an old hippy friend who bought a beautiful old ranch in the mountains and he kept coming down to my nursery and telling me that everything he put in the ground would die in six months. After hearing the symtoms I concluded that the soil was to blame and asked him if anyone had planted walnuts. He said the whole place was a walnut orchard. We were able to find him a list through some friends I have at the Cooperative Extention and everthing is now tickity-boo. By the way, Paulowia tormentosa wood is being researched as a building material in a goverment research grove in Georgia. The wood is as light as balsam and has the tinsel strength of oak, coupled with the fact that it grows like Ailianthus it could be very valuble indeed.-Bagpypr

Brenda, I think you can have the best of all worlds there if you do it right. Plant it, but cut it back to the ground every winter. That's the way you can get those huge leaves, which form on the vigorous sprouts as tall as your house, and it also will prevent it from making seed. But before you move away or abandon the tree, be sure to kill it with herbicide so it doesn't mature and start shedding seed after you're gone -- unless they're already established there anyway.
Guy S.

Brenda, You got mail

Thanks Starhillforest for the tips..... I received my seeds from Prism this past week and am anxious to give these a try. I'm wondering if my zone 5 climate will also help keep them in control. Thanks so much to Prism for sharing seeds.....

"I'm wondering if my zone 5 climate will also help keep them in control. "
==================
That's a pretty good bet -- here in the middle of Illinois zone 5 we don't have a problem with it. But check around your area for the presence of other (mature) Paulownia trees and you'll have a better answer.

For poor Brenda down in Texas, I'm afraid the news won't be all that great.

Guy S.

I have a 20' Empress I planted 12 years ago. I purchased it from a mail order nursery' the name of which escapes me. It grows very rapidly as others have mentioned. I am at about the northern limit, though I have seen one or two just south of Boston. It will flower for me if our winters are not too severe. It is loaded with buds right now so I have my fingers crossed. If it does flowwer I'll save you the seeds.

This discussion took place a while ago on GW forum. You might want to check there.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/trees/msg0104415515514.html

This tree grows at the St. Louis, Missouri botnical gardens - zone 5 or 6, and it is the most beautiful tree on the property. I wish I had one!

Empress tree, very interesting. I purchased two very tiny seedlings last year for 29.95 each and they grew well and quite fast. By fall they were about 4' tall, if that is fast. I am in zone 5 in Michigan. Well they both died over the winter. One of them has little green buds growing from the base of the stem so I removed it from the ground and it is in a pot now for closer watching. If they die back in the winter how can I ever get one to grow the maximun it states in the ads?