The Paulownia Tree

In searching for ways to help cool our home and prevent more $250/month power bills (all windows already have blinds, and are UV coated), I thought I'd see what mother nature could offer in the form of some quick shade without breaking the bank buying a already semi-mature tree ($150+ for a 15 ft tall oak? c'mon). I figured that I'd need something that can grow at least 40 feet when mature, and shade at least the sides of the house over the next couple of years... Have you seen the sunny side of our house? The Dark-gray shingles don't help much either.

It's not like my yard is without trees as I have some a few Texas persimmon trees (little dark green trees in the front), a few honey mesquites (seeds/seedlings are a pain in the arse foot), and the two required trees from D.R. Horton (of the oak variety), all of which will look beautiful in 20 years or so, but what am I to do in the mean time? So, I looked around the interwebs to see what types of fast growing shade trees are available. Central Texas Gardener was very helpful, as was the USDA's PLANTS site, and DavesGarden.com, Then I stumbled onto the Royal Empress Tree on fast-growing-trees.com and thought I had found the holy grail.

The Royal Empress Tree, also known as paulownia tomentosa grows 10 - 15 ft. per year, provides a wide, even shade canopy, is freeze tollerant, somewhat drought tolerant, loves full sun, and even produces a number of beautiful flowers in the spring (which Susan will love). That's when I started thinking, this must be too good to be true (which it was). Conveniently left out of the sales information was the fact that this particular species produces millions of tiny seeds that take to the air with the slightest of breezes, and that it is considered invasive by the USDA, as well as the states of Connecticut and Kentucky (other states too, but it really looks like they just copied what CT and KY wrote... lame...USDA did too, DOUBLE LAME). So, just as I was about to settle with Central Texas Gardener's (great show/site, btw) recommendation of a Monterey or Lacey Oak, I found out that there are other species of paulownia available. The most popular of which are the elongata, kawakamii, orienta, and fortunei.

Long story short, I found out that these other species are not invasive and don't spread seeds. They are grown for a number of lumber uses (surfboards, musical instruments, and furniture). They absorb a ton of carbon, and help clense soil of toxins (which means you have to be careful with herbicides and pesticides), and their leaves make great compost (more benefits here). So, come the end of July, I'll be planting two of them. One orienta for the side yard which will grow to about 50 ft, and one kawakamii for the back yard which will grow to about 35 ft. I'll post a few picts when they get here.