Paulownia tomentosa

carolpz

Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by carolpz »

Mine growing well too and was going to pollard next spring but am undecided now whether to do it in autumn. Damn!! :?
huporhaha

Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by huporhaha »

I cannot speak for tomentosa but, I had 300 odd paulownia catalpifolia seedlings a few years ago. Well I have lost at least 250 of them despite overwintering in a greenhouse. I now have about seven left. They do not like our climate at all. I lost a number last winter due to damp. I don't think they are worth trying any further north than the Scottish Borders. I have to nurse mine indoors every winter. The biggest one today is about two feet tall with big leaves that have sprouted from the base. Definitely a southern UK plant I think.......
GREVILLE

Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by GREVILLE »

Cut my twenty footer down today. Shouldn't be long before I get massive leaves.

Last time I cut more than three years ago I kept a log and it sprouted pretty large leaves before wilting off.
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redsquirrel
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Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by redsquirrel »

Somerset77 wrote:
redsquirrel wrote:interesting what Grub says about his log growing as i put a rubbed off stalk into a tin of water and it is putting out new leaves.no sign of any roots though so has anyone managed a cutting before??
Hi reds, yes I managed to get a cutting off mine last year :D

Can't remember exactly how I done it as didn't realise they were very hard to do! But I remember that I made sure I cut off close to main stem to ensure some 'woody' bit on the end. The cutting itself was no thicker than a pencil and no longer than bout 4inch, don't know if that helped? Also the 'mother' tree was in its first growing season.
Then left in jar of water in kitchen window for quite a few weeks! Never used any powder etc just water.

Going to try again this year but now the 'mother' is in its second season the cutting material is now thicker than a marker pen :ahhh!: so perhaps this may affect success? I don't know.

This cutting is now out the front enjoying its first growing season in the sun! icon_thumleft

Will get a pic soon
i followed your lead somerset and now have a rooted cutting in the window,still in water though.did you pot into compost or something else?
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Somerset77

Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by Somerset77 »

redsquirrel wrote:
Somerset77 wrote:
redsquirrel wrote:interesting what Grub says about his log growing as i put a rubbed off stalk into a tin of water and it is putting out new leaves.no sign of any roots though so has anyone managed a cutting before??
Hi reds, yes I managed to get a cutting off mine last year :D

Can't remember exactly how I done it as didn't realise they were very hard to do! But I remember that I made sure I cut off close to main stem to ensure some 'woody' bit on the end. The cutting itself was no thicker than a pencil and no longer than bout 4inch, don't know if that helped? Also the 'mother' tree was in its first growing season.
Then left in jar of water in kitchen window for quite a few weeks! Never used any powder etc just water.

Going to try again this year but now the 'mother' is in its second season the cutting material is now thicker than a marker pen :ahhh!: so perhaps this may affect success? I don't know.

This cutting is now out the front enjoying its first growing season in the sun! icon_thumleft

Will get a pic soon
i followed your lead somerset and now have a rooted cutting in the window,still in water though.did you pot into compost or something else?
Hi reds, yes it went straight into seed compost and was kept potted outside in sheltered sunny spot all year round once rooted and was planted out about 1 month ago!

I will get a pic of it sorted today
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simon
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Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by simon »

parkeey wrote:yep I thought this was one the fastest growing trees in the world.... :(
I cut my big one down this spring as it had got too big. The trunk was 12" across and I counted four rings. It had been pollarded for a few years before I let it go, so that is four years from a stump to a big tree with a 1 ft trunk. I think that's pretty fast.

Someone asked about then producing offsets. I have had offsets on mine but only due to digging nearby and severing roots that effectively created root cuttings. I then dug them out and potted them up. These were se veral feet away though, never as close as in the poster's pic. It also looks odd that the offset is growing much stronger than anything on the original stool.

As for pollarding in autumn versus spring, I think it makes no difference if done at the right time. If pollarding in spring, do it early before the sap starts to rise, probably late winter (feb/mar). You don't want to be removing material with developing buds on it because it will then have to redirect its energy to the remaining wood and will set back growth by several weeks. It sounds like that is the mistake that Dave has made in the past and also why Grub has growth on the removed material but not on the stool. Buds will be developing under the bark long before they become outwardly visible.
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Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by The Codfather »

so on that note.....it will be better to do it in the winter\end of the year ?
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Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by simon »

I would say, any time between December and March would be ideal. Once into April there is more chance of setting it back. This is just an ideal. It won't do it any harm by pollarding later. It just means it will be later to leaf up. I cut my big one down late this year because I wanted to wait for it to flower first. There were already buds on the branches when I cut it back, but it is growing away fine now but probably about three weeks behind.
Kristen

Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by Kristen »

I prune my Roses halfway in Autumn and fully in late February. The half-way is to reduce wind-rock during the winter, but because stems on roses may die through cold I don't do the final murderous-prune until coldest temperatures have passed.

Dunno if any of that applies to Paulownia tomentosa though? If the pollarded stick won't die back from extreme cold then that's not a reason to delay until spring.
Somerset77

Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by Somerset77 »

Here's my cutting pic at last!

Thinking of getting a cutting of this one also as one of the stems has gone woody already icon_thumleft
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miketropic

Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by miketropic »

mine starting to pick up

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Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by Dave Brown »

I always cut mine down in September or October once the leaves look tatty, and doesn't seem to do it any harm at all. Below is this year's history.
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miketropic

Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by miketropic »

Dave Brown wrote:I always cut mine down in September or October once the leaves look tatty, and doesn't seem to do it any harm at all. Below is this year's history.
so you only cut it back to the woody stem part Dave? my first year with it so its all guess work to me.
miketropic

Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by miketropic »

I really need make a decition. My paulownia has exploded with growth and is looking great BUT it has a main stem and then a side shoot. both are growing well but the main stem is much larger. it gives it a very full look but I'm thinking if I cut off the side shoot it will give more to the main stem. what would you do? If I do cut it off any way to get that large of a section to root?

Main stem

Image

where it shoots off right at the base

Image
Kristen

Re: Paulownia tomentosa

Post by Kristen »

I'd leave it until autumn and then cut it back and only allow one bud, from the leader, to develop next Spring. This year, given it is still small, I think it will benefit from having maximum leaf area for energy production.
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