Replanting Paulownia

RavioliKid · June 21, 2002, 10:36:13 AM

I am so pleased with the way my prize Paulownia is growing! The way it is developing, I am starting to think it is going to survive! 8)

Anyway, I am starting to think I had better move it out of my father's tomato garden. With the size of the leaves, it is going to start shading them, and I am worried about how easy it will be to dig it up as the root system gets larger.

Do any of you have any ideas about when I should do the replanting? Should I do it now, wait until fall, or what? :P

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Jeff · June 21, 2002, 02:49:07 PM

Rav, I'll send a note to old sawtooth and see if we can't get him back at least for a minute to answer this. We need another picture!

RavioliKid · June 21, 2002, 05:06:26 PM

Thanks for reminding me, Jeff! I bought a digital camera a couple days ago, and I need to keep reading the manual.
I'll see what I can do about a picture.

Tom · June 21, 2002, 05:41:24 PM

What did you buy, Rav?

CHARLIE · June 21, 2002, 05:54:37 PM

I never read manuals Rav. ???
I do one of two things......
1. just start pushing buttons and see what happens.
2. ask someone that has read the manual. ;D

RavioliKid · June 21, 2002, 08:27:16 PM

I got a Sony CDMavica. MVC-CD400 is what it says on the manual.

I think it is supposed to be a pretty darn good camera. It sure cost enough!

Tom · June 21, 2002, 08:37:46 PM

Yep, that's supposed to be a good one alright.

RavioliKid · June 22, 2002, 10:26:03 AM

I've got a picture of my paulownia, I put the jar I had it covered with in the spring in the frame to give you a sense of scale.

bjorn · June 23, 2002, 07:51:04 AM

Yout tree looks good and healthy! I wouldn't touch it untill it goes dormant for the winter. Then you will carefully and completely dig up the root system. Also, prune it back down to almost the ground, leaving a few buds at the low end. Plant it in a good sunny location and watch it take off next near!

RavioliKid · June 23, 2002, 12:39:55 PM

bjorn,

Do you think I should keep it in a protected place over the winter? Like, in the breezeway or the garage? Or, should I plant it in the ground?

Thanks for the advice!

Kim

Tom · June 23, 2002, 05:24:29 PM

Rav.

I can't speak for the conditions in Mich. but in Georgia the farmers who are testing this tree have told me that the first year is just to establish the plant and it is pruned back to nothing for the winter.. The second year, all suckers/new shoots but the strongesst are cut away and a strict regiman of pruning takes place as frequently as once a week to make sure that all the growth effort goes into this one stem. From then until maturity, suckering/pruning is an intensive effort throughout the life of the tree :D :D

You are probably growing the roots now that will support the new growth next year. Now I'll let someone who knows what he is talking about tell you the "real" scoop. :D

RavioliKid · June 23, 2002, 06:17:37 PM

Thanks, Tom!

The "trunk" that grew last year didn't have any growth this year - so I guess it was "self-pruning" ;)

So, I guess from what you are saying, I should get out my snippers and do a little pruning. Or, maybe I should wait until its third growing season.

Tom · June 23, 2002, 06:50:27 PM

I understood that you groomed the second season. So, if that's true, you should have some tremendous growth out of this shoot this year. Might be too late to move it.

The plantations are grown from rooted pieces of bark or pieces of pruned wood normally rather than seed. Perhaps you could develop this shoot into one that would provide rooting material. It is supposed to root prolifically from bark slips, sawmill slabs, prunings etc.

Here's a couple of a bunch of sites on the web.

http://www.paulowniatrees.com.au/Growing.htm
http://www.schlimme.com/paulownia/farming.asp

RavioliKid · June 24, 2002, 06:33:49 AM

Thanks, Tom!

I think I am going to have to move it. I don't think my father want to turn his prize tomato garden into a paulownia plantation. :(

I'll have to see if I can decifer the info on the websites.

jindie · June 24, 2002, 06:46:12 AM

Is this the same thing that I call catalpa in Arkansas?
:-/ We have them growing wild. They grow VERY fast, and have purple blooms in the spring, later ugly pods. I think the wood tree brings quite good money when sold for log timber. I've heard it is used for idols...hmmm....a rumor? :-/

RavioliKid · June 25, 2002, 02:42:00 PM

We have catalpa here in Michigan, and they aren't the same as the paulownia. Although, I have to admit that the leaves look similar.

The catalpa that we have here has long, thin pods that look like string beans. The pods of the paulownia are smaller and rounder.

I didn't know that catalpa wood was useful.

Idols, huh?

Tom · June 25, 2002, 03:16:20 PM

Hmmm, let me see how to answer this.

Paulownia is new tree around here and is a very fast growing thing. It's leaves get as big as umbrellas and it's flowers are in bunches of purple. More common farther north, as in NC, we are just being introduced to it.

Catalpa, and I've seen it written as Catawba and catalba, is a common tree here and in Georgia. It doesn't usually make a saw tree because it branches out too quickly and forms more of a small multi trunked tree.

Its claim to fame is that it harbors the caterpillar of the/a lunar moth that makes good fish bait. It is valued as such and most young folks can tell you where there is a tree loaded with worms. The worms are so valued that they are harvested and frozen for later use and there are many revered recipes for successful preservation.

It has been discussed already on another interesting thread but I can't remember which one right off hand.

Hugh Darty · June 25, 2002, 08:15:10 PM

Hey Rav, your paulownia plant looks great! Is it a Tomentosa or Elongoti? I think I sent you both seed varieties.
You should still be able to move it, but be sure and move as much dirt around the roots with it as you possibly can. Don't wait long or you'll need a tree spade (ha!) to move it! Plant it in a well drained loamy soil if possible and water it throughly, with a little miracle grow mixed in. Keep grass and weeds away from it until it gets well established. I would try to plant it on the south side (sunny area) of a building or hill to try and protect it from your cold winters as much as possible. Might be a good idea to put a thick mulch of hay or sawdust over the root area in the fall after frost has fell to help insulate it. :D
Good luck!
Saw

RavioliKid · June 25, 2002, 08:25:19 PM

Thanks, Hugh!

I wish I could remember which variety I had. Maybe when I get back to school in the fall (well...actually later this summer >:( ) I can find the papers from the science fair in 2001.

Knowing my record keeping abilities, I HAVE the information...I just probably won't be able to find them. :(

I'll see if I can get my baby transplanted before I leave on my trip - and see if I can get a neighbor to come by and water it until my father gets back to town.

There are a couple smaller ones tucked behind the tomato plants. I'll try to get those, too.

Thanks for the seeds, Hugh!
8)

SwampDonkey · June 23, 2004, 04:02:02 PM

Just wanted to bring this thread forward as there was a recent post on Paulownia and fast growing trees.

dail_h · June 23, 2004, 04:25:39 PM

When we went to OK for Sarah's graduatio,we saw lots of them in the mountains. They were just blooming,quite attractive,but I thought their claim to fame was theie timber. The ones I saw didn't seem to be very good for saw timber,kinda scraggly. They also seemed to be altitude sensitive,we only saw them at higher sites. I had thought about planting some for timber,but they sound like quite a project

RavioliKid · June 23, 2004, 05:27:05 PM

Dail,

My paulownia is growing again - it's in its third season. So far, I have cut it down each fall. I have a feeling that the one I am trying to grow isn't hardy enough for my climate.

It looks healthy enough - nice big, green leaves - but it will be interesting to see if it grows enough to make it through the winter.