The Forestry Forum

I am interested in planting Empress Spendor trees.  Would appreciate any info, on where or whom to contact, about the need for this type of wood.

Empress Splendor is a marketing name for an overly hyped species normally referred to as Paulownia Tomentosa.  It is native to China and considered an Invasive species here in the U.S.  We've seen a lot of hype about the growth rates but not once have we had someone come on the Forestry Forum and tell us how they harvested and made money on them.  The hype comes from the people trying to sell you trees.  You can searhc the forum and find several conversations on the trees, including one from several years ago where some of us tried to grow some from seed.

I think I remember one member commenting recently about harvesting some in a sheltered gully that he believed to be of decent quality. But conditions where just right, and a gully tends to be nutrient rich in the lower end with plenty of moisture as well. I forget which state this was, but there is a limit to how far north they will grow well at. Way up here in my area they grow up off suckers and the winter kills them back. After a few years they look like a lilac clump, only with a lot of dead stems. I don't know much about them personally. I prefer working with native trees.  ;D