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I was given a root stem from a Royal Empress tree. My neighbor, who loves trees gave us one and we planted it in a pot to start it growing. I am concerned because some sites say that it is a very intrusive tree. I do not want one that is going to overgrow my yard, but would like to plant a tree in front of my house that will grow rapidly. I have sycamores in my yard, but i need something to give the front of our house some afternoon shade. Any information or help would be appreciated.
HI
If you go to Guides and Information (one of the top tabs in Daves Garden) and then click on 'Plant Files' and type in 'Empress Tree' in the 'Search' spot, there is a great deal of info and comments from people who have it or know of it, etc.
It is very invasive, I don't know about Florida specifically, but it's a problem in other areas of the South so that would mean it'll be problematic in Florida too. It may not appear too terribly aggressive in your own garden, but keep in mind that it spreads is by seeds which can travel a decent distance away from your tree, so you're not going to see most of the babies. When the seeds get out into natural areas, that's where it causes big problems, crowding out native vegetation and multiplying like crazy.
Also something else to think about --I know that trees that grow very fast here in NC (and I think the empress tree (Paulownia) does well here but we are warned about it because of the invasiveness issue) are brittle and break very easily. I always see the ornamental pear trees --very fast growers --split down the middle or snapped right in half after a good stiff storm or wind event.
Yes yes the bradford pear and empress trees are very fragile. There is a quote by someone famous...forget who???? But it's something to the effect that a wise man plants trees for his grandchildren. So basically you want trees that will last a lifetime at least. I had thought this empress tree sounded awesome myself until I read up on it. Good luck!
