Can you please tell me what this plant/tree is...it was given to me a few years by a member of the Association when we were members. it was in a gallon pot for several years, then I planted it in the ground and it shot up and finally this year it bloomed..
Thank you...
Bess Ranger
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Jim Guinn (Wednesday, 19 September 2018 03:12)
I believe that is a Royal Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa), a.k.a. princess tree or kiri tree. A native of China, paulownia was introduced to this country from Europe in the 1840's, and grown as an ornamental. It is a member of the figwort family and has nine species. I have two of them on my property. Most have light to dark purple or light to dark blue flowers, but I have seen them with white and off-white flowers like yours.
From Wikipedia: "Paulownia tomentosa is a deciduous tree in the family Paulowniaceae, native to central and western China. It is an extremely fast-growing tree, and is a persistent exotic invasive in North America."
SJ Braid (Wednesday, 29 January 2020 13:27)
This may be a Catalpa Tree, more specifically :
Catalpa bignonioides is a species of Catalpa that is native to the southeastern United States in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Common names include southern catalpa, cigartree, and Indian-bean-tree.[1] From Wikipedia
Ann Rausch Z7a (Sunday, 16 April 2023 12:59)
I believe that is definitely a catalpa. If you look at any images of the blooms online, they match. I had a catalpa in my yard growing up so when we finally settled after my husband's Navy career, I planted two. The beans are interesting and the worms (not every year) are sought after by fishermen. The one thing I will say is that the wood is fairly weak, not quite at the redbud stage though. The trees are very interesting in winter because they don't have a straight limb on them anywhere - looks like a skeleton with the bones all broken and wonky (very scientific term!). By the way, you posted this on my birthday - August 17!