Paulownia Synergy For All

Hello, I want to ask you how much fertilizer should I give per tree. And how long? I was told that fertilizers should be given for the first two years. Is it correct or I should give the fertilizers every year?

Fertilizer amounts are relative to the size of the tree.  I always fertilizer the first two years after planting, making a circle of around the tree just past the root system and let the roots ”grow into” the band of plant food.  The bigger the tree, the far away I place the band.  First year seedlings would be about a .25 liters of 34/0/0.  Second year would be about 1 liter.

Paulownia trees are heavy feeds and love all the fertilizer you can afford to give.  You need to look at the cost involved verses the return to determine if you can justify fertilize every year.  However, at year 5, you can put up to 500 pounds per acre and can get very expensive for big trees.

One more question, I am planning to plant seedling in two weeks and I would like to ask you if it is too late to plant. what is the best time to plant the seedlings?

The best time to plant seedlings is just after the last frost in the spring.  Frost kills any green growth and on plants with weak root systems, frost will kill.

Paulownia can be planted as late as 8 to 12 weeks before the first frost in the fall. This will give ample time for the seedlings to grow a root system for good sprouting for the next summer.  It also allow enough time for the tree to harden off and become dormant for the winter season.   If you have hot dry summers, it means frequent watering.

I like to keep up with my customers and see how they are doing with paulownia. Here is what one customer replied:

David
The seedlings are doing well, we got them planted in late May and they are starting to take off. I have included some pictures. Also the guidance on the fungicide and the fact we waited to field plant them until they were 10-12″ tall increased our survival rate to 95% after 2 months. last year on the same hillside we lost 50% with in 2 weeks and had lost 88% by the 2nd month.

The last picture with the bigger trees, is of the clones I bought last year from David Drexler they are in their their 2nd growing season. That pasture had a 80% survivor rate.

All in all I am very satisfied and will do business with you again. I appreciate the individual contact and the guidance and help you provided that was not in the ” Growers Guide” I bought before. The attention goes a long way. One of the things I would love to have more information about is the Carbon Credit process, average wood volume yield based on DBH, and current Market Prices of the Paulownia lumber. That would be very good information, and help the average person get some real data on the return potential based on current market prices.

I was also able to sell about 35 seedlings this year thru a local Nursery. These were mostly Tomentosa but one guy specifically asked for Elongata and I was glad I had a few on hand. I still have about 150 leftover so I’m not sure what to do with them, they are about 10″ tall and pretty happy in the grow station in the garage even thought its well over 100 each day here in TX. The nursery thinks they would be able to sell even more of the Kawakamii as ornamentals because of the smaller size so I may be in need of some seed if you have some next year. My yard tree has pods on it from the blooms this spring but its not quite 2 yet, so I don’t know how good or many it will produce.

Hope this helps, and thanks again
Tad

Hello all.  It is another season to start up some more paulownia trees.

I just got done lifting my trees and cutting the roots into pieces.  Those that are not sold, will go into my own fields.  In the last few years, I have gravitated from green house grown material to cuttings for my own personal use.

One of the attributes I love about these cutting is there is no need to water when first planted.  I can plant earlier in the spring (4 to 6 weeks) than greenhouse grown seedlings.  Frost is not a problem and the weather is cooler with more spring rains.  When the hot weather does arrive, the cuttings have had the necessary time to  establish themselves.  They still may need watering during the season.  However, the watering is more for growth, rather then trying to keep them alive.

Another likable is there is no Harding off/toughing up required as with green house seedlings.   The cuttings are dormant!  They can take a lot of abuse and still come on strong!  Cuttings the diameter of your thumb or larger do best in the field, for they have ample stored energy to get them started.

In short, if you have not every try root cuttings, you might give them a try.

Hi, my short answer is: “don’t waste energy, time, and money on root ball trees”.

On good sites, I have been able to paulownia trees to a height of 12+ feet using seeds. The seed are germinated around mid February, then planted in the field the end of May. This is when frost is not so much a danger. As proof, below is a picture of this year’s planting with a 6 foot man standing next to a tree.

On good sites, I have been able to grow paulownia trees to a height of 15+ feet using X-large foot cuttings. The cuttings are set out about mid- April. This is when the soil starts to warm up. As proof, below is a picture of a 6 foot man standing in front of my root cutting crop for the 2011 season. You will notice the first row is only about 5 foot tall. This is because the first row was getting too large for digging. I had to cut them back to the ground in August to hold them back!

If you want to start a successful paulownia plantation with minimum cost for West Tennessee, I would suggest using root cuttings planted on a 30 X 30 foot spacing to no more then a 40 X 40 foot spacing. My assumption is: you are wanting fast growth. This would require regular pruning of the trees for the first few years, but it would save a tremendous amount of money on root cutting cost, planting cost, weeding cost, fertilize cost, watering cost, and all the labor that goes with it. Below is a picture of a 35 acre planting (in the distance) I did in the spring of 2010 using root cuttings on a 20 X 50 foot spacing. I had about a 90% survival rate, with the trees getting up to 9 feet (I did not water and use little fertilize). I weeded a 10 foot circle around each tree by mowing and let the weeds grow else were. The weeds are about 6 feet tall. The green spots are my paulownia trees.

I have not ever use any “ball paulownia trees”. The cost is just too great for me to try! I just can not see the need when 12″ seedlings and large cuttings can do so well!

Oh, by the way, my home page http://www.paulowniaseed.com has a picture of the cuttings the were cut in August to hold them back. You can go there if you want to seed the size of them.

Hope that helps.