I remember Jimmy Carter promoting the pawlonias in the market bulletin several years back. Truly a nuisance tree.

I know it as the Princess tree and is known to grow vigorously in spaces between sidewalks!

I’ve been driven half mad with the Crepe murders in my neighborhood and now I’m headed for the nervous hospital because two neighbors planted 3 each of them Pawlonias. Then another neighbor cut a mature dogwood out of clump to better display his Mimosa frond, so I’m on continuous lockdown.

I grew up with this sturdy tree with its huge heart shaped leaves. All the kids climbed into its sturdy branches and when it rained…we made rain suits out of the huge leaves, sticking the leaf stems down our shirts and on top of our heads and had a ball walking in the rain completely protected. Do kids have that much imagination today? We made up our own games back then and had great fun thinking for ourselves.

Princess tree. I have one I cut down 7 years ago and still fight with suckers popping up almost every week during the summer.

Is it true President Jimmy Carter grew a large stand of these trees when they were first introduced in Georgia? I was told his intentions were to profit from the wood by selling it to the furniture industry both in the USA and in Asia. Any info?

Looks like Southern Catalpa.

I agree this is a Pawlonia… These things are tearing up sidewalks and the street in our neighborhood where well meaning but ignorant folk planted them 10 years ago…Beautiful in the Spring, but a huge mess!

The first picture is a cottonwood tree, very fast growing and very undesirable in your yard. Although as a child we had one near our home which had been allowed to grow very large and we enjoyed climbing on the tree. The other pictures are of a different tree/plant in my opinion.

Dear Sir Obviously it’s a Royal Polonia or Pawlonia so shoot me for spelling

Is it a cottonwood?

Common name is “Princess Tree”. It is highly invasive and not native to USA. originates from China.

I have one of these too on my timber farm and have wondered what it is. The picture on this home page looks more like it than the ones above. What is it?

It’s a Pawlonia tree. And Walter, by the way……many many years ago, you had a guest on your show who was touting these as “Sapphire Dragon Trees” and I actually ordered one from him. It came in a tube the size of a paper towel roller, and zoomed up to about ten feet that year. Still have it, still cutting down the suckers, and still cursing the name “Walter Reeves” when those seed pods hit me in the head. 🙂 Beautiful weed tree, and I still listen to your show. Chris

Probably a variety of Paulownia.