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rmslayer

Advice on Royal Empress Tree

rmslayer
16 years ago

Hello,

I came across the Royal Empress Tree which I read is the fastest growing tree. I want to get one for privacy in the backyard.

Question: Anybody have them, think they can be a nuisance after a while because they grow so wild?

Thanks.

Comments (210)

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    8 years ago

    If Mvarilla's source is the one I think likely (mentioned above), then the plants are definitely not sterile. That guys claims they are sterile (he uses that word), but then makes it clear in the explanation that he doesn't really mean sterile (he uses the word differently than what it really means to most of us). The claim amounts to saying that the supplied cultivar (cloned individual) is not self-fertile.
    --------------------------------------------------
    "I will let everyone know how my tree is doing and will for sure tell you if it's invasive here in Kansas"

    Unfortunately, it's unlikely you will have the resources to make that determination. Paulownia doesn't appear to be quite as bad in your area from reports I've seen, but it has been found to have naturalized there. IMO, it is probably somewhat irresponsible to plant it there, but the decision will have to be yours. Like when we see people throwing out trash while traveling down the highway, there's little most of us can really do about it.

    If someone ever did come up with a sterile Paulownia cultivar it would be interesting. I've heard of no such "breakthrough" so far. I think if there was one, we would have likely heard about it.

  • mvarilla1980
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Good point tornado. I am taking this all into consideration as I move forward. Either way if it doesn't reproduce great if so than I will admit I was wrong. I have no qualms in saying it.

  • mvarilla1980
    8 years ago

    http://dragontrees.com/ was not even close to where I located the trees Brandon. And that is the site name still and They still claim the name Paulownia Tree Company. Neither of those I've heard of until you said them. I'm sorry If those people have lied but not everyone lies.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    8 years ago

    As noted above, it was just a guess, Mvarilla, based on the claims. They are the only one I've seen (at least that I can think of right off the top of my head) that make the claim of producing "sterile" Paulownia. Like your post, they even include the fact that their plants are supposedly clones as part of their reasoning. Coincidence happens all the time, but you gotta admit, the similarities are striking!

    So, who is your source? And, if they make claims about sterility, what is their basis?

  • rusty_blackhaw
    8 years ago

    Any Paulownia tomentosa is going to be "sterile" most years in Kansas City, seeing as flower buds will be killed by winter temps down near zero.

  • vilklmrs
    8 years ago

    PLEASE DO NOT PLANT THIS TREE! My neighbor planted one 8ft from the lot line and for intense purposes the tree was mine! My yard had the sun so naturally it grew towards our yard. By three years it was at least 3 stories tall and at this point the foliage on the branches was 85% in our yard ...what a mess. At 5 years (my mistake poison it instead!) I paid $500 to have it cut down. For years now I have weekly shoots as fa as 20 feet into my yard. :( This plant keeps on giving. If you care about your neighbors/neighborhood at all DO NO PLANT THIS TREE. By the way, you to will get the shoots. :(


  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    8 years ago

    snip each shoot and drip non-diluted round up on them ... eventually you will kill the root mass ... if the neighbor will allow you to also kill all the ones on his lawn ...


    i use the applicator at the link for minimal application ...


    ken

    https://www.google.com/search?q=plochmans+mustard&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=XQTcUYCCC_OFyQGCg4DAAg&biw=1154&bih=805&sei=XwTcUbmZHZK4yAHD0oDYDw

  • gparker619
    8 years ago

    I found some facts from the U.S. Forestry service. Although this variety may be less invasive, it could still be problematic in certain climates and soil conditions, see below:

    1) It is invasive from Pennsylvania south to Georgia and west to Missouri

    2) Soil texture may play a role in princesstree's invasiveness, sandy or loamy soils with low clay content appear optimum

    3) In the United States, it is typically not invasive in regions where temperatures drop below 32 °F

    http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/pautom/all.html#Impacts

  • sam_md
    8 years ago


    abandoned warehouse in Baltimore City. Multiply this by thousands and you get the picture. Seed becomes airborne and comes up miles away from parent plant. How can anyone see this and not call paulownia a weed?

  • gparker619
    8 years ago

    It is invasive from Pennsylvania south to Georgia and west to Missouri, If you live in any of these areas, avoid it

  • Judy Lawson
    7 years ago

    Where you buy your empress tree makes all the difference in whether it's invasive or not. I live in a rural area of North Carolina, have a huge yard and have planted several empress trees . I have not seen any signs of them becoming invasive. The largest one is about 5-6 years old and at least 50 feet tall. I have an Adirondack chair under it and it is my favorite place in the whole world! I wasn't satisfied with it's growth after the first year so I cut it down to the ground and wow! It started growing up a storm after that! I haven't had any problem with it spreading. When it's small it does tend to put out what we in the south call "suckers" from the root but you just pinch that growth off and it grows up as a single trunk tree. As it grew I pinched off leaf buds as far up as I wanted the limbs to start growing. This prevented me from having to trim lower limbs off. As someone else stated, the wood is hollow...at least when it's small-medium. I haven't cut a large limb off so I don't know if it continues to be hollow or fills in as it gets older. We have had 45-50 mph winds and the tree doesn't sway any more than the willow oaks in the yard. This is a link to the nursery I got mine from. http://www.fast-growing-trees.com/Royal-Empress-Tree.htm It comes packaged extremely well. I have been completely satisfied with the trees and limelight hydrangeas I got from them.

  • wisconsitom
    7 years ago

    Judy, there is nothing in your post indicating this tree to not be invasive. Perhaps you misunderstand what that term means. It's not about what does or does not happen in your yard. It's about seeds being carried hither and yon, sprouting in all sorts of places, far and wide. That's how invasive plants usually get spread around. so you see.....what you see.....in your yard.......has no bearing on this issue.

  • Judy Lawson
    7 years ago

    Thank you for the information, wisconsitom. I take exception to my observation having no bearing on this issue, however. I think some of the trees would show up somewhere on my 45 acres, but I haven't seen any. I go off road over every part of the property checking for coyotes and deer they may have killed. Maybe the deer eat them while they are small. I know they ate one in the front yard because I saw them do it. I do understand your concern about them however.

  • calliope
    7 years ago

    I live in S.E. Ohio. I have acreage. Our winters can go well below zero F in winter and hold there for weeks on end. I planted three of these under the assumption they'd never become invasive, either. Even our local arboretum was selling them! First they started coming up in the vegetable garden. I thought not a big deal. It's nearby and the ground is fertile and disturbed much of the year. Then I noticed a large and more mature one last summer in a heavily wooded area of the property, competing against the natural stand of trees and managing to seed itself in heavy undergrowth. I suspect if I took a better look at the woodlot, I'd find more. It took the trees fifteen years to do it, but they're seeding the landscape. Fifteen years is no time at all for nature. If I had a few thousand to throw away, I'd level all of them before the monster consumes our county. I'm a retired nurseryman, I should have stuck to my gut instincts that this was not a good idea.

  • Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
    7 years ago

    https://ncsu.edu/goingnative/howto/mapping/invexse/index.html

    Sorry, the tree loving hippies in North Carolina list the princess as invasive and would rather no one plant it.

    Its invasive here also btw.

  • davidrt28 (zone 7)
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    It is a pretty tree and it's a shame someone hasn't figured out how to create a sterile one. They are unlikely to be invasive in Northern California (although, I wouldn't bet my life on it in riparian areas...) and you see them in public gardens and collections there. Sonoma Horticultural had one of the showiest I'd ever seen, with extra deep lavender flowers on bare leafless branches. As close to looking like a Jacaranda as I've ever seen. It could have been one of the other species like P. fortunei, or even a hybrid thereof. Alas I forgot to photograph it!

    BUT DO NOT PLANT THEM EAST OF THE ROCKIES!

  • sam_md
    7 years ago

    Longwood Gardens is an exceptional public garden in SE Pennsylvania, every state should be so lucky to have such a garden. Wanna know their annual budget? How about $50,000,000.

    Even an exceptional garden such as this is vulnerable to making poor decisions. In a highly visable, prominent location of the garden stands a row of trees, guess what they are:


    That's right, our old friend Paulownia. This pic taken last October, notice how dirty the tree is, also no fall interest whatsoever. I don't know when but at some point they will have to bite the bullet and remove this row of weeds.

  • davidrt28 (zone 7)
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    In fairness, way back when, I guess the 1960s, they were not known to be invasive and were a cutting edge, special edition, yadda yadda, collector's plant. An elderly couple who were somewhat my gardening mentors had a bunch of old Wayside catalogs from the 70s and before...I wish I'd somehow been able to keep them after they died. If I looked through those, I'm sure I'd find it was introduced at some point to the general public, with glowing purple prose. (no pun intended LOL)

  • wisconsitom
    7 years ago

    Personally, I like these things. But that liking cannot be the last word. But the point of this post is to ask, why are some of us-OK, one of us, lol-so quick to fling stereotypes out there-"tree-hugging hippies"...that sort of condescending verbiage. Tor, if you don't like tree-huggers, then you don't like me, although in fairness, my relationship to trees long, long ago extended well beyond the hugging phase. I just don't think such talk serves any purpose here. We are tree lovers all, are we not? And in point of fact, the environmental movement did indeed start with folks in the 1960s gaining an awareness. How can that be anything but positive?

  • calliope
    7 years ago

    Tor was being facetious I believe, notice he said they were invasive in his part of the world as well and posted more links referring to this trees ability to escape into the wild. It's been ages since I've visited this forum, but think I remember him posting pictures of his gardens, and they consist of very appropriate plantings and were beautiful and he's as much of a tree nerd as the rest of us who used to post here daily. You ask why are some people OK with planting these anyway, when the evidence is clear they shouldn't be? I can think of several reasons.

    Some, and I imagine they are in the minority, are just selfish and will have something they want regardless of the consequences. Many are not intentional jerks, but simply believe advertising without vetting it. Others simply prefer to believe that which coincides with their own opinions, and face it that's human nature and the public has been fed with such drivel over the years from 'experts' who were misguided they don't trust the sources anymore. Then there are those who figure their own actions are not going to make a whole lot of difference on a large scale and figure 'just this once' isn't going to matter. The problem being that everybody else is doing that too.

    I took a drive into town last week and noticed on small parcel of real estate near the business sector kept mowed and up for sale had AT LEAST thirty to forty young and blooming Bradford pears scattered over perhaps a third of an acre. Nobody planted these intentionally but the parents of these woody weeds had been installed by professionals up and down the business sector as landscaping because they are PROFITABLE. Cheap to buy and going to need replaced in a decade or two, so more bang for the buck. There's plenty of guilt to pass around.

  • wisconsitom
    7 years ago

    You make some good points, Calliope. For that matter, I'm not starting a battle with Toronado-he is a great contributor here and I am certain we share many viewpoints. It is or was just that wording that I personally find to have no business in a serious forum. Maybe I misconstrued.

  • calliope
    7 years ago

    I know.......tree hugger is a trigger word. I hate the phrase 'trigger word' more than the phrase 'tree hugger'. I see why it was used, however because it lends some credibility to what he was trying to project, and very accurately describes how some of us are labeled with those types of names to make our arguments appear silly and less than realistic.

  • Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
    7 years ago

    "-"tree-hugging hippies"...that sort of condescending verbiage. Tor, if you don't like tree-huggers, then you don't like me, "

    Sarcasm or humor is tough to get across in text. My apologies. Usually I get it out after common non tree ppl post about a weed.

    Think of it as saying "even fanatics who dedicate their lives to working with trees don't like this one".

    My humor and points of view are different though. Consider I like Obamacare/ mandatory health insurance because Reagon, Carter, Ford, Bush, Clinton, etc all had a free loader / socialist healthcare system IMO. At least this way my bum neighbors have to pay something towards insurance or IRS fines since for the last 60 years they would get cared for regardless. Any fine point of the law is up for debate though.

    So yeah, just ask. I LIKE tree huggin hippies and sorta consider myself a 68 Mustang owning old CAFE Standards loving tree hugger. No offense intended by far!

  • Jeremy Klettlinger
    7 years ago

    I've planted several of these tree's on my property in Phoenix, AZ and I think the desert climate is the perfect place for these tree's. I know of only one other place that has these tree's in the greater Phoenix area. We need all the shade we can get here! I've not had any new trees grow from seed anywhere on my property, or anyone else's, and have had only one root shoot that looks like a mini tree. I'm actually letting it go since it's in an open space. I wonder if it will become another tree on it's own?! I hope so! It is growing insanely fast! I've had these tree's for at least 5 years, and they're not invasive at all here, and I've tried to grow new ones from seed, and haven't had any luck. I've been told mine are sterile (I know several are rolling their eyes) but I'm just telling you my personal experience. I got them from fastgrowingtrees.com before they stopped shipping them to AZ. Everyone in my neighbourhood loves them and asks me what they are, esp. when they are all in bloom. I even had a lady who wanted a branch for a cutting to start her own. Hope it worked?! The leaves do turn yellow here in the fall, not sure why they don't in other parts of the country?, so they do provide a little bit of fall interest, and they don't all fully fall off the tree until December because of our climate most likely. The flowers start to bloom at the very end of February/beginning of March and last all of March and then all the new leaves start coming in. I water deeply and infrequent and give them lots of nitrogen to keep the leaves nice and green. They are amazing shade tree's, and haven't had any invasive problems here whatsoever. I think the desert is just the right climate for them and wish everyone with big open spaces would plant them. We have such a problem with heat from all of the pavement that it keeps our night time temps up way too high in the summer. We need all teh shade we can get here! The extreme summer heat probably stunts their growth as well, so they don't get quite as tall as they might in the midwest/east/northwest, etc. I love my empress tree's!

  • viper114
    7 years ago

    I would say hybrid poplar is the next best thing they are sterile and grow like weeds

  • Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
    7 years ago

    Jeremy, do you have to water it alot there in Arizona?

  • Jeremy Klettlinger
    7 years ago

    Tornado- The first two I planted in my front yard 5-6 years ago, I now only deep water them twice a year! (spring and fall solstice) They don't like to be watered often, and will drop leaves if watered too often now that they are established, and they are big and full! I have no problems with branches breaking off either as I've read on here. I do prune them as needed. Have had no problems with roots either. I have one in my back yard that I planted last year that I water weekly in the summer, but once established will cut back as needed, and I have others that are in between that I deep water monthly or every two weeks in the summer depending on how hot it is, and just monthly in the fall/winter unless we get a real good rain which is very rare here. These tree's do not require a lot of water, relative to many other tree's. I wish more people knew about them here in the desert!

  • Kay Derr
    7 years ago

    A lot of comments regarding the Empress Tree as invasive. I purchased my tree from an Empress tree lumberer from the south. He is very knowledgeable about this tree. He told me that it depends on whether or not the tree is raised from seed. He said that his trees are raised from seed and, because they are, they are not invasive. My tree is several years old now and there isn't another one in sight, nor are there any growing around the tree's base. It has grown like any other tree. I love it and it really shades my mobile home. I live in central Pennsylvania. My neighbors are in awe of the tree. This tree can take a beating. Mine had been run over by a backhoe and still grew.

  • calliope
    7 years ago

    I started mine by seed too. That has nothing to do with them not being invasive. At first the seedlings were just popping up in the vegetable garden. Now I have some in my woodlot. I actually saw them being sold by a local arboretum,and figured they would not sell something irresponsibly. They were not 'supposed' to be invasive here. I have no points to prove other than to say if they have gotten a start in a woodlot with underbrush (as opposed to the disturbed bare and cultivated soil) I'd suggest that they are quite capable on those years when the weather is just right of being an unwelcome guest. I am a retired professional nurseryman.

  • Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
    7 years ago

    Ditto. The man talking about seedling raised ones not being invasive is wrong. At the fringes of their climate tolerance they may not be invasive.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    7 years ago

    Ditto what Toronado said, except add "completely" just before the word "wrong".

  • Kay Derr
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Too bad yours have been invasive. My tree is a gem and hasn't gotten out of line yet! :) It's heading for its sixth year. The lumberman may not be a nurseryman, but he has been growing them for years and sells them for their lumber.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    "Too bad yours have been invasive. My tree is a gem and hasn't gotten out of line yet! :) It's heading for its sixth year."

    Kay, it sounds very likely that you don't understand the whole topic of invasive plants. Unless you are closely surveying the area within a few square miles of your house (or are sure that your tree has not produced any seed), you are probably not really in a position to determine whether your tree has "gotten out of line."

  • wisconsitom
    7 years ago

    Exactly^. Once again, we see the terms ecologically invasive utterly misunderstood. Ecological invasion is (mostly) not something that happens in your yard. By definition, it happens when seeds, root bits, rhizomes or other propagules enable a non-native plant species to proliferate in the environment. So this is absolutely not about how things are going in your home garden. Invasive plants crowd out native plants and more importantly, entire native plant communities.

  • calliope
    7 years ago

    This is also the time of year when Japanese knotweed is blooming. It's so impressive and beautiful as you drive along our rivers and along railroad tracks, people look at it and ask wow, what is it? I want some. So the nurseries oblige. Only they don't call it Japanese knotweed for obvious reasons. At some points along our waterways here, it almost hides the river it is so prolific and successful. Pandora has already gotten out of the box and it will never be eradicated. An estimated 42 percent of the nation's endangered and threatened
    species have declined as a result of encroaching invasive plants and
    animals.

    According to the USDA Forest Service," displacement of native
    plants can alter the quality and quantity of wildlife habitat... alter soil chemistry and nutrient cycling.... pose a
    significant threat to riparian areas...shades out
    everything underneath it, preventing forest regeneration, eliminating
    populations of understory plants, and essentially stopping natural
    succession" One just about gives up, because either you believe what research tells us, or you don't and we are just singing to the choir.

  • hacked2022
    7 years ago

    My royal empress tree will be nine this year. It's very large tree, beautiful with many comments from neighbors and passes by asking what type of tree I have. Other than the fact that it's a very beautiful tree, especially in the spring, I would say that it's a chore to take care of. It's constantly dropping leaves throughout the year branches too. It has to be pruned regularly as it grows so fast. During fall it takes a few days for me to rake and bag the leaves and now (spring) there's a plethora of falling blossoms and seed pods. I consider myself to be fit and active, but this tree is whooping my butt with the up keep! Last year I noticed three baby trees growing in my yard and knowing what I know now, I immediately took them out and destroyed them. In hindsight, I would never plant another again.

  • mrteater
    6 years ago

    I purchased a couple royal empress trees in 2013. Since, each summer these trees grow 8 to 10 feet and look very healthy. Then in the spring when I expect the trees to continue their growth with no leaves they appear to die. Bark of the trees starts out a nice healthy looking color and turns a darkbrown dead color. I'm not sure what's happening. I then cut the tree down and then the cycle is repeated the last few summers. Does anybody have any idea what's happening or what I'm doing wrong? I live in Idaho for zone six See photo

  • Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
    6 years ago

    @mrteater Simply put, your winters are too cold. With some carefully sourced seed from a tree growing in a colder area, you could get -10F out of it before factoring in sun-scald and winter dessication.

  • gmeinert
    6 years ago

  • gmeinert
    6 years ago

    OK..I am conflicted. We have a vacation home in NC and I planted this Royal about 3 years ago...It's now huge, but does give us some privacy (we live in a 6 home "association") which is welcome. It has a good shape but a neighbor has suggested we cut it down for a number of reasons, primarily because we aren't sure where the septic system is and this might be really nasty if it invades. Should I worry? I am already asking around to find someone to remove it this winter.

  • cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
    6 years ago

    I've told this story several times since the first time in 2012 or so.

    I had two ancient Paulownia
    tomentosas removed from the front yard of our new house in May of '07-
    before we even moved in.
    I felt terrible that our new neighbor's first impressions of us were as tree killers, but it simply had to be done!
    As much as I hate killing a tree, I am not a criminal.
    The criminal is the IDIOT THAT PLANTED the damned things.

    I had the roots ground out as deep as the largest grinder would go.
    The roots shoots that came up that year were horrendous- one every foot
    covering the entire yard. It was literally a daily chore to keep up with
    them- you'd cut them all then the next morning there would be another
    hundred of them 2 inches tall.

    They came up again equally as bad in '08, all spring and summer.

    In '09 they slowed down a bit on my property but began seeking new
    areas as I saw them in neighbor yards as well- not only on the adjoining
    properties but across the street.

    Spring and summer of '10- three full years since I had the trees taken out- and I still got shoots.
    THREE YEARS!
    They slowed down considerably but I still had to cut down one or two every couple of days. They are impossible to pull.
    They are one tenacious tree.

    AND...
    I cut more root shoots in the spring of '11!!!
    Four. Full. Years. After the trees were removed.
    This tree is the devil!!!

    This is the very first year I have not seen one- five full years of
    diligently patrolling the yard with scissors to cut root shoots.
    In a way you're gotta respect that degree of the will to live!

  • miketropic
    6 years ago

    I have both fortunei and tem I planted both 3 or so years ago. I pollard every year so no flowers or seeds. I do get some root suckers but kick them off with my foot and all is well. I would call them a high maintenance tree if anything. If you want to plant something and just let it go its not the right tree but if you don't mind to monitor it and kick over the suckers its no more work than pulling weeds from the garden.

  • Bernadette Nowicki
    6 years ago

    I own this tree it looks like a big oak tree until spring and then people knock on the door and take prom and Easter photos,,

  • cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
    6 years ago

    Yeah, the person we bought this house from left us a long, detailed letter with photos about the lovely blossoms and how the trees were her "heart" and how everyone in the neighborhood loved them so.

    After we had them removed probably six different neighbors stopped to tell us how much we had improved the street by removing them. They were simply way out of scale for the land.

    If you have acreage, sure.

    Residential neighborhoods not so much.

  • jamspine
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Someone mentioned how nice it would be if horticulturalists developed a sterile version of this tree. My Empress tree that I bought 3 years ago is sterile. It never develops seeds and I have never had one sucker come up anywhere. It has however grown over 20ft tall in that amount of time and is a beautiful tree that acts as a privacy screen and gets covered with large clusters of purple flowers for almost 2 months in the spring. The leaves are big, but I really don't see what the issue is with them shedding. They shed no more than any other deciduous tree. You can mow right over them and they create wonderful leaf mulch to feed other plants or add to the compost. I do hate some trees (hackberries, mulberries, and arizona ash tree, which plant themselves all over my yard relentlessly), this Empress tree has turned out to be very hardy and attractive requiring the least amount of maintenance out of all of my trees (figs, pecan, vitex, crape myrtles, chinkapin oak, pear, desert willows) No regrets. Buy responsibly and buy a sterile one if you like them, and obviously plant them far enough away from your house or your neighbor's house.

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    6 years ago

    Jamspine, where are you located (nearest large city)? That makes a difference.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    6 years ago

    Jamspine wrote, "My Empress tree that I bought 3 years ago is sterile" but "...gets covered with large clusters of purple flowers."

    How did you determine that these flowers were sterile (produce no pollen)? Red flag alert!

    "Someone mentioned how nice it would be if horticulturalists developed a sterile version of this tree," but Jamspine suggests that we can "Buy responsibly and buy a sterile one..." even now.

    Hmmmm, I think I may be seeing a pattern here! Red flag #2!

    "I do hate some trees ... which plant themselves all over my yard relentlessly."

    Royal Empress Trees plant themselves all over the community in much of the US! US Forest Service on Paulownia

  • jamspine
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    @Brandon No Pollen and no seeds are produced as well as it being listed as Sterile "Paulownia elongata" when I bought it. I can only speak from my own experience and info I have received from others in my community. The flowers form, the flowers wither and drop out of the Calyx, the Calyx shrivels and drops about a week later in tact. The end.

    I have only seen Catawba trees (which some people confuse with Empress trees ) invading here in addition to the trees I previously mentioned. I have a neighbor down the street that has had two for over 10 years. I asked him about his before I bought mine and he said that he has not seen even one runner pop up anywhere or seen any invasive ones in the surrounding area. There are a multitude of varieties, I do not speak about all of them, just the one that I have experience with. "Empress Tree" is a common name that refers to at least 4 different varieties, that I know of. The link you provided about invasive trees refers to "Paulownia tomentosa", which is NOT the tree I have in my yard. I have "Paulownia elongata". Hopefully my tree is truly sterile, I will keep an eye on it during this upcoming 4th blooming season, if that changes I don't have a problem with cutting it down, but I don't foresee that being an issue.

    Austin, Tx

  • HU-723527024
    4 years ago

    We bought two. We took two down. The roots were everywhere. Since taking them down, we have hundreds of them coming up from the roots left. HOW CAN WE KILL THE ROOTS? Someone mentioned poison. What kind? My husband drowns the shoots with Round up everyday, but to no avail. Don't think it's killing the roots, and now they are in my neighbors yard. Already we have brown spots all over the yard, even on the other side of the driveway. These are not coming from seeds, they are growing from the ROOTS. HELP!!!!

  • User
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    What needs to be done is, treat the freshly cut stump with stump killer or straight, undiluted 41% Glyphosate, around the inner bark layer or Phloem. This sucks the treatment in and distributes the killer through out the entire root system, killing the tree, end of story.

    I don't know how long it's been since you had the tree cut but I've heard of trees cut a couple of weeks ago, where they re-cut the stump and treated it like described above.

    Edit: you might get more input if you start a new thread with all information about your specific trees. And some pictures. :-)