Paulownia is a genus of 7 to 17 species of hardwood trees in the family Paulowniaceae, the order Lamiales. The genus, originally Pavlovnia but now usually spelled Paulownia, was named in honour of Anna Paulowna, queen consort of The Netherlands (1795–1865), daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia. It is also called “princess tree” for the same reason.

Paulownia tomentosa is known by many vernacular names including Royal Paulownia and Empress Tree. Regardless of what you want to call it, there is no doubt about its impressive ornamental features. This beautiful tree puts on an awe inspiring show in spring. Its soft chamois velvet buds open into large violet to blue, trumpet-like blossoms which fill the air with a sweet fragrance. The flowers carried on long up curved shoots, look like large foxgloves. The huge leaves are an architectural delight: the soft, downy, large leaves appear after the flowers have opened. Native to eastern Asia, this exotic looking, deciduous tree is surprisingly hardy and can tolerate harsh winters, to minus 8°C (-14°F). Hardy throughout the British Isles, the buds of the Foxglove-like flowers are formed in the autumn and can be damaged by late frosts. They must be sheltered from hard frosts to ensure the violet blooms appear in spring. It is a fast growing tree, usually grown as a specimen or shade tree growing rapidly to 1.8m in its first year. In 3 to 5 years, this tree achieves what many other tree species take generations to achieve. An excellent use of this plant is the production of “stooled” specimens giving perhaps the most magnificent of all foliage dot plants. All growth is cut down to ground level each March and the resultant suckers reduced to a single shoot. The result is a strong, erect growth rising to 2m and bearing huge and handsome leaves, producing a most striking effect. In very cold zones they are often grown and cut to near ground level in autumn and grown as a large-leafed shrub the following season. Very easy to germinate, seedlings grow rapidly, flowering in as little as 2 to 3 years under good growing conditions.