Beautiful bloom in large bluish, fragrant clusters. Very fast growth at young age. Can also be pruned back to the soil level every year and used as foliage in shrub beds (leaves of 50-60 cm in this case).
Tree very resistant to pollution, thus very used in urban alignments. Protect young plants from cold (mulching).
Mnemonic help : Catalpa (3a): leaves by 3; Paulownia (2a): leaves opposite by 2.
Deciduous tree of Asian origin, with very large, heart-shaped leaves opposite by 2 (unlike the Catalpa, which has leaves generally verticillate by 3), light green with hairy reverse. The growth is very vigorous during the first years, erected, then the shape becomes more spread out. Its clusters of 20-25 cm appear in the autumn, and remain in buds until April, when bell-shaped bluish purple flowers appear. They are followed by dry capsules, from which, in summer, a multitude of tiny seeds can escape, able to sprout even in cracks along the sidewalks.