# princess tree?



## osagebow (Feb 21, 2012)

Anybody ever burned this? (Paulownia tomentosa) It's an invasive exotic and very common 100 miles south of me. I have one I'm going to (try to) kill, wondering about possible smell or if it's worthwhile in btu's , ease of splitting, etc.
Thanks!


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## 711mhw (Feb 21, 2012)

You might check out selling that tree!! It is a highly valued tree. Now this was over 20 years ago, but I've seen a guy stop at a friends (rented) house that we were at and offer $300 for a couple of scrawney pawlonia trees at the end of the driveway. Well, he showed us the money, pulled a saw out of the truck and we had beer money! Several years later I knew a guy that was aware of their value and he found one that needed to be removed. He sold it, A PICKUP LOAD  for 2000 bucks. He now has a small plantation growing. There are inporters that buy them and I think that they go to Japan. It is a light wt. fast growing, but strong and decay resistant wood. (this was in MD years ago)


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## Wood Duck (Feb 22, 2012)

I have some wood I think is Paulownia. It is light and doesn't really seem to burn very well. I have a hard time believing it is currently valuable. It grows so fast that in 10 or 20 years  we could all have a fortune in Paulownia.


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## muncybob (Feb 22, 2012)

Maybe I should grow some! Not sure how well they would do up here in central PA though. I will proabably be able to use that $$ when my 401k runs out in 20 years!


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## mtneer (Feb 22, 2012)

I have four 30-footers in my yard that I only recently discovered were princess trees. They sort of remind me of ailanthus, which is a terrible fuel wood. The blooms are a pretty light blue but they smell like cough syrup. I think they stink so maybe the wood is stinky too. They also produce tons of clusters of nuts/seeds. I wont be bothering them for wood with 5+ cords of oak/hickory usable by next winter.


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## mesuno (Feb 22, 2012)

Just googled them - one site specifically described it as "fire resistant".

Don't think this is a winner for fuel but it does have a market for some high value wooden products (musical instruments, surfboards etc...) for it's lightweight and warp resistance.

Mike


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## osagebow (Feb 23, 2012)

Thanks guys - probably not worth bucking and splitting, noticed the woodpeckers had hammered it hard today.


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## Wood Duck (Feb 23, 2012)

Mesuno said:
			
		

> Just googled them - one site specifically described it as "fire resistant".
> 
> Don't think this is a winner for fuel but it does have a market for some high value wooden products (musical instruments, surfboards etc...) for it's lightweight and warp resistance.
> 
> Mike



I am not sure what 'fire resistant' means in this case, but lots of trees that are fire resistant make good firewood. Oak, many types of pine, and most trees that grow in the american west are fire resistant but the wood burns very well. The bark is fire resistant when the tree is intact and alive.


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## fran35 (Feb 23, 2012)

I have tons of them on my property. They are a nuisance and invasive as heck. I have cut down so many 30+ footers only to have 6 more saplings grow to be 15+ feet in less than a year. As for fire wood, the stuff seems like garbage. It usually has a hollow core and is super light weight--almost like balsa. I must have burned at least a cord in my brush piles and burn pits. I really wish I had a black locust problem instead of Paulownia


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## brian89gp (Feb 23, 2012)

I've had decent luck killing those and Mimosa tree's (talk about a weed!) with Tordon RTU.  Cut the tree, apply to stump, and it kills off the entire root system.  TSC carries it around here.


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## fran35 (Feb 23, 2012)

brian89gp said:
			
		

> I've had decent luck killing those and Mimosa tree's (talk about a weed!) with Tordon RTU.  Cut the tree, apply to stump, and it kills off the entire root system.  TSC carries it around here.



Thanks, I tried that this year. I took a big spade bit to the stumps and drilled a three inch deep hole and filled it with it. We'll see how it goes come spring....


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## osagebow (Feb 23, 2012)

Thanks  -I 'll try that - figured just cutting it would just make it mad,  thier's one on my commute that has gone all "Little shop of horrors" after being cut a few years ago.  Thankfully I do have a bit of locust - had lined my yard and road with some 7-10 years ago that's still good and is ready to split now.


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## mesuno (Feb 23, 2012)

Or get a goat... they are really good at munching on resprouting shrubs...


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## 711mhw (Feb 24, 2012)

fran35 said:
			
		

> I have tons of them on my property. They are a nuisance and invasive as heck. I have cut down so many 30+ footers only to have 6 more saplings grow to be 15+ feet in less than a year. As for fire wood, the stuff seems like garbage. It usually has a hollow core and is super light weight--almost like balsa. I must have burned at least a cord in my brush piles and burn pits. I really wish I had a black locust problem instead of Paulownia



 I have a feeling that you might have them p.o.s. Havenwood or Lanthis trees, not Pawlonia. Used to have them on my woods in MD. I used to push them over on the stump and burn them in a pile, that's all there good for and as you mention, if you cut them there will be 2/3 suckers coming off the stump. PA dept of AG has some advice on killin em. Chemicals sprayed on the cut stump.


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## fran35 (Feb 24, 2012)

711mhw said:
			
		

> fran35 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I think it is definitely a Paulownia...according to my research

This link gives a detailed look

http://www.maplemountaintreefarm.com/royalempress.html


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## Wood Duck (Feb 24, 2012)

You might try girdling the trees to kill them. Girdling is cutting away the bark in a ring the whole way around the tree. In many cases it seems that the part of the bark/wood that carries water and nutrients up to the leaves will survive girdling, so the tree will releaf for a couple of years, but I guess the part that carries nutrients back down to the roots is destroyed, so after a couple of years the tree dies. I have girdled Ailanthus and Norway Maples and in both cases the trees eventually died without producing any shoots either from the base or from the roots. I think girdling causes the roots to use up their stores of energy and die, whereas cutting does not so the roots survive and resprout either from the roots or from the stump, depending on the tree species. You can girdle a tree pretty easily with an ax.


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