Paulownia Growth

[daz]

So have i got this right?If you cut the trunk down just past the first two buds(as shown in the last pic)you get bigger leafs?If so i,ll do mine

[DiCasS]

I cut mine down each year and now have buds just showing. I'll rub out all but two buds, let them grow on a bit and rub out another one, resulting in one stem with huge leaves. The only reason I'll be leaving two buds is because last year I was a bit clumsy and accidentally knocked off my last bud and had to wait for new ones to develop, setting it back slightly.

Di

[daz]

Doese it really make a big difference di?In spring last yr mine was about 5 inches high.By the end of summer it was about 5 foot With lovely fairly big leafs on..

[parkeey]

its got 2 be a few yrs old to chop, mine is 2 yrs old i think....... so still a small trunk as u can see in the pic

[simon]

Daz, it doesn't matter where you cut it to. You can cut it right down to ground level if you like. All you have to do is preserve one bud to get big leaves.

Parkeey, there is nothing wrong with that one. I would have cut it lower but people seem to have different preferences on where to cut.

At Will Giles' garden I saw one that had obviously been cut to ground level over many years and it had a huge flat stool, larger than a dinner plate, right at soil surface. He had done something different with it that year and left all the buds on so it had formed a mass of stems about 1.5m tall with small leaves and looked more like a shrub. When I say small leaves, they were still large compared to most trees and shrubs.

[Madahlia]

Still no sign of life on mine.

I leave mine with an 18" stump so that the crown is lifted clear of the border underneath to avoid shading it too much.

Good tip about leaving two buds just in case one gets damaged. I'm so clumsy I'm always knocking the heads off something or other.

[Dave Brown]

As I have said I cut mine back in Autumn so the buds are in the right place from the start. Here are some pics from 2009

[simon]

Dave, you don't have to cut it in autumn to get in before the buds develope. March is be fine .

[Dave Brown]

Dave, you don't have to cut it in autumn to get in before the buds develope. March is be fine .

Why would I want to look at a bare stick all winter. when I can cut it down in autumn and get the same results. What purpose does leaving it until March serve

[Adam D]

Found some tiny little buds on mine at the weekend, which were duly rubbed off.

I do not pollard mine right down and the trunk is now about 4 foot tall and I leave about 6 growing points on it.

I know that I will not get the monster leaves, but my back garden is quite exposed and big leaves would just end up being ripped to shreads by the wind.

[parkeey]

so the buds are gettin bigger, shall i leave the top 2 or just keep one bud? if i leave 2, will it develop 2 like trunks? advice please

[Dave Brown]

Just an update on the Paulownia leaves. This plant is the furthest advanced with the stem now about 3 feet tall. Largest leaf is currently 32cm.

The big stump one has about a foot of new growth and the tree one numerous new stems. The leaves on this one got battered in the May winds, and the Blackbirds have kicked off the top buds as they use it as a singing perch. I'll take a couple of pics later

[Adam D]

My stems are about 6 inches long, if that.

Miles behind yours Dave

[Dave Brown]

Adam, I'm not surprised.... the distance I am south of you is the same as London to Milan

Here as promised pics of the other Paulownias.

Big Paulownia stump

The Paulownia tree

[Madahlia]

My paulownia shoot is about 1 foot long, making it middway between your two's both lengthwise and latitudinally. So all's well with the world!