Though pretty and tight - growing , this extremely invasive species will quickly take over your entire thousand .
At first coup d’oeil , a Formosan empress Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ( Paulownia tomentosa ) , also know as the foxglove tree , empress tree , or princess tree diagram , seems sympathetic . It has pretty over-embellished bloom in spring and get apace , which has made it a popular tree for providing nimble shade . It is one of the fastest - grow trees in the creation ; it can develop up to 20 fundament improbable in its first class and reaches due date in just 10 years .
Native to cardinal and western China , the empress tree diagram has been reported as invading in more than 25 Department of State . It is most concentrated in Southern and East Coast Department of State , including Tennessee , Virginia , Alabama , New Jersey , and Delaware . It has been spotted broadcast in forest and other raw area from Vermont to Florida on the East Coast and as far west as Texas . Even far west , a few county in Washington have also reported sighting . The coinage is nix from being sell and set in Connecticut .
Credit:Evgeniya Vlasova / BHG
Find out why the empress Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is so invasive and what are practiced option forflowering trees in your landscape painting .
Evgeniya Vlasova / BHG
Problems Associated With the Empress Trees
Once you have an empress tree in your chiliad , it ’s exceedingly difficult to pass it . The roots are hard and spread just as quickly as the tree grows above ground . Due to its vigorous growth , the tree takes over an full yard in a few years and chokes out other plants by cutting off sunlight and sucking up resources like water and food .
If embed closely to a structure , the thick , declamatory roots damage understructure and concrete . Its stem grow outwards up to three time as all-encompassing as the tree is marvellous .
It is impossible to control the tree diagram with pruning . It bring forth up to 20 million seeds every year and even if you ’re diligent about pruning , they easily make their elbow room into neighboring yards or wooded areas .
Credit:Evgeniya Vlasova / BHG
Like other tight - growing trees , the empress tree has brittle wood . Its limb split easily , creating a hazard and requiring cleanup .
How to Get Rid of an Empress Tree
First , issue the tree downto ground level while it is still small . Within a few arcminute after cut off , put on a saturated broad - spectrum herbicide such as glyphosate to the pulpit .
The Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree will likely resprout . A combination of mechanical and chemic methods is most successful in control any young growth . manus - pull any seedlings that emerge and spray any sprout with a broad - spectrum weed killer .
You will need to be dogged to fully get rid of an empress tree because even a tiny destiny of the root that remain in the ground will resprout .
Empress Tree Alternatives
If you require to add a bloom tree to your yard , there are better - behaved choices that wo n’t become botanic monsters . There are plenty of native metal money to select from that grow colorful flowers in spring : southern magnolia , buckeye , serviceberry , andflowering dogwood .
If you want a tree that combines the wildlife value of a native tree diagram with fast growth and spring unfolding , look at planting atulip poplar , sweetgum , orredbud .
Frequently Asked Questions
The tree grows to a mature height of 50 feet and a breadth of 30 foot in 10 long time .
The tree diagram has been used successfully in mine reclamation because it grows in food - poor and contaminated soil but it is a bad choice for home landscapes in North America , where it is an invading species .
Empress trees have a lifespan of about 70 class .
Despite being a member of the foxglove phratry , the empress tree is not debate toxic to man or animals .
" Connecticut Invasive Plant List . “Town of Old Saybrook .
