I have a Golden Chain that is self seeding all over the place! I'm in Vancouver Canada and obviously this species really enjoys the clim...Read Moreate. There is one mature tree (obviously self seeded as there are many in the neighbourhood) along the side of the house and this has led to a dozen young trees that I have had to cut down because there is no room for them to grow. I also pull up at least 20 or 30 little saplings - I call them "tree weeds"- each year, growing in the lawn, in the flower beds and along the side of the house. My landlord bought our house 10 years ago and since then the property has become overgrown with self seeded trees: Birch, maple, Elm, pine, cedar, Holly, Dogwood but worst of all GOLDEN CHAIN everywhere! This spring I plan to remove 6 more!
I have only seen this European species one time; it is not commonly planted in the USA. The one I've seen was planted as a 2" diameter tr...Read Moreee and hardly grew bigger from that in southeast PA after about 8 years. I don't recommend it as a wonderful small tree, of the Legume Family, in the US. It does suffer some from leafhoppers.
This is the best of the laburnums for ornamental use. A beautiful tree in bloom, but the photos of blooming golden chain trees are decept...Read Moreive. Out of bloom, for 50 weeks a year, it's a dowdy thing.
When young, the habit is narrow-upright, looks almost fastigiate. It can reach 25' tall, broadening with age.
A short-lived tree, it's intolerant of hot summers. Trees I've cared for are given to occasional branch or top dieback.
The seeds are notoriously poisonous. Self-sows here, but not invasively.
This is a cross between L. alpinum and L. anagyroides.
I have a goldenchain tree that has volunteered itself in the top of a rock retaining wall on the side of my property. It grows right out...Read More of the rocks with very little soil. It is a hardy little tree with pretty yellow flowers faithfully every spring. Only drawback is all the pea pod seeds everywhere that fall off over the winter.
I found this tree to be extremely slow growing and finally figured out, that
although it says it is deer tolerant, the deer were e...Read Moreating it. I finally moved it last summer to a tub which is mostly in shade and protected by a cage and it has done really well and grown. It seems very happy in that mostly shaded area and although it has not flowered it, it is finally growing. I may leave it there one more summer since it seems very content and then move it next year. It's now
about three feet tall and has never bloomed but it's had a hard life of
losing all of it's foliage yearly to deer. I keep hoping to eventually get some blooms from it. I saw a large one of these blooming years ago and thought it was one of most beautiful trees I had ever seen, so I'll keep trying.
Eastern Long Island, NY (Zone 7a) | October 2007 | positive
A stunning performer when in May bloom, it seems to hate the summer heat and looks like a tree from "Transylvania" for the rest of the ye...Read Morear. I have gotten the seeds to germinate and am looking forward to adding another to my garden soon. Sometimes takes a year off to "recharge" but the next year comes back with overwhelming blooms. I feed it 'Fruit and Deciduous Tree' spikes 2x a year and it does'nt seem to mind.
Greenwood Lake, NY (Zone 6a) | January 2007 | positive
Absolutely gorgeous when in full bloom, especially the 'Vossii' cultivar, which has longer, more abundant chains of flowers. My local nu...Read Morerseryman advised me that this tree dislikes fertilizer and nutrient-rich soil, and that it will do fine in relatively poor, dry soil with its deep, clover-like taproot. The tree is related to clover, and can generate its own nitrogen. Do not plant where young children can eat the poisonous seeds. I've returned to my nursery about six times to purchase this tree, and always hold off at the last minute, because the tree's structure is not nearly as beautiful as its flowers. After the flowers fade and drop, the tree looks "weedy" - this is esp. true if the local nursery tries to prune the tree into more desirable shapes, because the tree rebels and often stops growing at the point where it was pruned, leaving it looking ratty. I've also seen the tree rebel in the opposite way, growing like crazy with multiple new shoots at the point where it was pruned, creating a witch-broom effect. This tree should ideally be appreciated for its flaws, and allowed to grow in its own way, without excessive pruning.
I have a Golden Chain that is self seeding all over the place! I'm in Vancouver Canada and obviously this species really enjoys the clim...Read More
I have only seen this European species one time; it is not commonly planted in the USA. The one I've seen was planted as a 2" diameter tr...Read More
This is the best of the laburnums for ornamental use. A beautiful tree in bloom, but the photos of blooming golden chain trees are decept...Read More
I have a goldenchain tree that has volunteered itself in the top of a rock retaining wall on the side of my property. It grows right out...Read More
I found this tree to be extremely slow growing and finally figured out, that
although it says it is deer tolerant, the deer were e...Read More
A stunning performer when in May bloom, it seems to hate the summer heat and looks like a tree from "Transylvania" for the rest of the ye...Read More
Absolutely gorgeous when in full bloom, especially the 'Vossii' cultivar, which has longer, more abundant chains of flowers. My local nu...Read More