Paulownia: seed growing and aftercare

Paulownia is an exotic tree for a temperate climate.

It is rarely found in the parks of these latitudes, however, it is common in the Far East.

Let's find out whether it can grow on your site and how to do it.

Description and photo

Paulownia or Adam's tree is a deciduous plant from the Pavlovniy family. It is predominantly grown in Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China. It can also be found in the south of Russia, Ukraine, Europe, North America and the Caucasus. A fast growing plant, the average height is from 9 to 15 m, and some species can reach 22 m in height.

The crown grows to 6 m. The trunk diameter is -110-115 cm. Paulownia has large deltoid leaves, 25 cm wide and 30 cm long. The flowers of the tree bloom in spring before the leaves appear. They are pale purple with a yellow center.

The flowers have a bell-shaped form and grow 20-30 cm in length. The fruit is an egg-shaped box with a large number of winged seeds.

Adam's tree lives up to 100 years.Paulownia is used to make furniture, musical instruments and other items made of wood. Its advantage is soft wood.

Also, certain types of cultivated as an ornamental plant and planted in parks and squares.

Popular species

There are from 5 to 7 species of adam tree. Let's look at the description of the most popular types of paulownia tree with photos.

Paulownia felt or Imperial tree. The habitat of the species covers China, Europe and North America.

The plant has a sprawling ovoid crown, pale purple (sometimes white) flowers and large leaves. Flowers bloom more often before the appearance of the leaves, at least - during. Leaves fall in late autumn.

This type can reach 20 m in height.The plant does not tolerate winter temperatures below -20 ° C, so it is not suitable for cultivation in the northern regions. It is grown as a landscape tree, because large leaves give a good shade.

Paulownia Fargeza. Cultivated in the mountainous provinces of China and Vietnam. This species grows up to 20 m. It is distinguished by its white flowers. Leaves 30-35 cm long, 25 cm wide. Flowering begins in early spring. It tolerates drought.

Pavlovnia Farghezu can be confused with the Catalpa tree, because both plants have white flowers in the shape of a bell and large leaves. But the catalpa flowers bloom in late May, when a dense crown of leaves is already formed.

Also, the fruit of catalpa is a pod that can reach 50 cm. But both trees have a similar habitat.

Paulownia oblong or Paulownia elongated. Habitat covers China. It grows up to 10 m in height. The leaves are egg-shaped, have pubescence on the underside. Paulownia oblong forms inflorescences of purple-pink color.

Paulownia Forchuna. The species grows in the highlands of China, but is also known in Taiwan, Vietnam and North America.An adult tree can be 30 m tall. The leaves are large, as with any type of Pavlovniev family.

Forchuna is distinguished by its trunk (2 m in diameter), as well as young shoots and inflorescences, which have yellowish pubescence. The flowers are light purple to 25 cm in length.

Growing conditions

Paulownia - a plant with a high degree of adaptability. In the wild, it grows in mountainous areas, but the optimum height above sea level for cultivation is 700-800 m. The main condition for cultivation is a warm, humid climate.

Lighting and location

Any of the above types of paulownia should occupy a sunny place. The optimum temperature in the spring-summer period is + 24-33 ° С. Paulownia can withstand wind up to 7-8 m / s, but no more.

Particularly susceptible to strong gusts of young trees, the trunk of which is not sufficiently stiff. Therefore, if possible, grow it in windless areas.

Paulownia is transplanted to a permanent place when the seedling is already 1 year old.

Optimum soil

The plant is not fastidious to the soil. It will grow well on sandy, drained soils. Hydrogen indicator is allowed from pH 5 to pH 8.9. But the best will be around 6.5 pH.

Avoid heavy soils, for example, high clay content. In this case, the soil will not flow well and the tree will die.

Landing technology

The technology of planting a tree depends on the climate in which the plant will develop. In temperate latitudes, it is difficult to grow paulownia from seeds, since there may be no material.

After all, an Adam tree usually does not set fruit under uncomfortable temperature conditions. In this case, a great option would be cutting. Growing paulownia from root offspring can also be difficult. Despite the rapid growth of the tree in height, the root system develops slowly.

If you have a ready sapling, then it will be planted along with a land clod. The pit should be 3-4 cm in diameter more than an earthen room, so that there is room for backfilling the soil mixture.

And it is prepared from 1 part of sod land, 2 parts of peat and 2 parts of sand. After you have rammed the ground, the sapling needs to be watered abundantly. Note that when planting a seedling, the root neck should be at ground level.

From seed

If you decide to grow paulownia from seeds, then you cannot bury them in the ground when planting. Paulownia, like rhododendrons, is sown directly on the soil. You can do this in various ways.

1 way: using a napkin.

To do this, you will need any plastic container with a small lid. At the bottom you need to put the usual napkin. Preferably loose. Then moisten with spray water.

Sprinkle a small amount of seeds and moisten them also with water. After covering the seed container, put it in the fridge for two days.

Upon expiration of the capacity must be moved to a sunny place and leave for 10 days. Air tank every 2-3 days. From 10 to 14 days the seeds begin to germinate. It is at this time you need to put them in a pot with nutrient soil. After that, sprinkle the germinated seeds with a small amount of earth, but be careful, they can not be completely covered with earth. Pour over water. The tree grows quickly, so this sowing of seeds is done in the fall, so that in the beginning of summer it was already possible to plant a small tree.

2 way: germination immediately in the pot.

To do this you will need a small pot with nutrient soil. It must be poured to such a level that the water still remains in it for at least 10 days. That is, to make a kind of "swamp".

Then sift the seeds there and wait 10-14 days until the seeds will sprout. But do not forget that you need to cover the pot with cling film and ventilate the seeds every two days. The advantage of this method, as well as the first, is that you do not need to monitor the seedlings. Enough to give the optimum amount of sunlight and moisture. But the second method includes one minus: if an excess amount of water is not absorbed within 14 days, the seedlings will die.

From cuttings

Cuttings are best taken from a young tree (which is 2-3 years old). They are buried in a loose, moist soil completely. Sometimes you can leave a small part of the cutting above the ground (2-4 cm).

When several shoots appear already more than 10 cm, then the strongest and highest are left, while others are removed. Cutting recommended in the early spring.

From root offspring

Paulownia is rarely grown from root shoots because the plant has a weakly branched root system that slowly develops. Therefore, it is often not possible to get quality material.

However, the tree can produce additional shoots that are connected by the root system to the mother tree. In this case, you can dig out the shoot and separate it from the mother tree (cutting the roots with a shovel). Recommend to hold it in the fall or spring.

Adam care

Paulownia needs regular watering, despite its drought tolerance. Watering a young tree (1-3 years) should be done every 10 days with 10 liters of water. A more mature individual requires watering every two weeks to 15-20 liters.

But try not to flood the plant, otherwise it will weaken its immunity. Adam's tree is not whimsical to fertilizers, but like many plants it responds to feeding chicken droppings or peat. They can be made in the fall and spring. Also, the plant is well tolerated vermicompost.

Trimming for the adomai tree is not necessary, because its crown is branchy and because of this it is very beautiful. But paulownia also tolerates any type of trim.

Diseases and pests

Adam's tree is susceptible to fungal diseases and is not resistant to such pests as aphids and scab. To avoid fungal diseases, try not to overwet the soil, do not multiply paulownia on the ground where such diseases used to be.

Also, before planting, seedlings are recommended to pour biofungicides on the ground, which will prevent the appearance of fungus. After all, young trees have weak immunity. Insecticides will help you to get rid of shitovki and aphids. Paulownia is recommended to spray them after the winter to get rid of eggs and other pests.

Having learned what an Adam tree looks like, many gardeners want to plant it on their plot. And you can safely do this if you live in an area with a warm and humid climate.Remember that the correct landing site will determine how it blooms and multiplies.