This tree gets tall. We have some along a small stretch on a highway bout 20 minutes from our house. I have seen it along highways down south by Va, Sc and Ga. It has a large cluster of purple flowers like wisteria hanging all over it. So I made my hubby get out along the road and run into the woods to get a branch with flowers on it this spring. Got it identified. Looked at every garden center for a month and finally found it. Fast growing. I won't let it get very tall. I don't want that area to be shade. I don't let allot of trees get very tall. I just like them for the flowers or leaves or texture or bark. They don't need to be gigantic. Anyway, turns out this tree makes very nice lumber. I have seen furniture made out of it and it doesn't have grain like oak but has a nice shading to it's finished product. It's just one more thing we added to our gardens this year....
We have this and I cut it down to the ground (well about a foot up) in February. This gives us leaves the size of elephant's ears at the expense of flowers. Trouble is that it only flowers when it is a very tall tree,
Hey there Palustris, I will cut it this fall but not that short. I actually don't want it to bush out. If it runs out suckers. I will carefully take them out and pot them up. I have a little fenced in area where we have plants for sale. All suckers will go in that area. When I divide plants, just don't want them or over buy, they all go into the sale area. When people come to see our gardens and like a certain plant I may have something to offer them. Some people just like to look through that area. Everything has a bonus cheap price on it.. Also I am hoping it's the age or size of the root that enables it to put on buds.
Never seen suckers on ours, nor have I ever tried getting cuttings to root. It is supposedly easy from bought seeds though.
