Paulownia

I have been wanting to do a post on this tree since the pring, but I needed to wait until the right moment.  Last April when travelling, one morning I spotted beautiful blooms in trees that I could not recognized, I took photos and try to find the name of the tree.

Some days later during a visit to an organic farm for a documentary, I saw a plantantion of the same trees but smaller size, also bloomed.  And I had the answer, they were Paulownias tormentosa.

 I learnt about the botanical characteristics of the genus and species, that they are interesting trees for being fast-growing tree, they produce very appreciated hardwood, perfect adaptability to different geographies, it can be useds for reforestation, ornamental uses, obtaining biomass, etc., also flowers are edible and make great honey.

It comes from China and grows in other regions of Asia, in Japan is called the "princess tree". There are between 6-17 species and most used are Paulownia elongata, P. fortuneii (dragon tree) , P. imperialis, P. tormentosa, that is considered invasive in some states of US.  Lately, some species have received very much attention for its ecological possibilities and uses, and plantations are growing in number in my region.

I wanted to have some of these trees in my garden mainly for the flowers, I must say.  I planted three in different areas, just before the summer.  I am amazed by how fast the grow, in only 4 months they are about 1.80 m, and because they are deciduous soon they will loose the huge leaves.

one of my trees

 But right now they are producing the future flowers that will take sleep during winter and bloomed next spring, depending climate and zones.

They also make very artistic subjects, and I tried a "botanical portrait" of the buds.  These images are of the same trees as first photos, but two weeks ago.

And this is my tree this week.  Next photos will come next spring, hopefully with flowers.