Black Walnut vs Empress Tree
Juglans nigra
Paulownia tomentosa
The Black Walnut is a slow growing, large, straight-stemmed tree with an open crown. It produces dense, very hard, edible nuts.
Black Walnut has a deeply-furrowed, black bark. Its leaves are about 1 foot long, composed of 15 - 23 slightly stalked leaflets on a moderately stout stock which provide good dappled shade.
Despite being highly valued for its edible nuts and its shade tree aesthetics, it is rare to see this tree on the prairies.
Note: Black Walnut's roots produce a substance named juglone that is toxic to some other plants. Consider this when choosing where you plant a black walnut, as you will not be able to grow tomato, potato, cabbage, eggplant, blueberry, azalea, rhododendron, lilac, red pine and apple in the surrounding area.
Note: Plant this tree once. It will not respond well to transplanting.
Note: Although self-pollinating, planting two trees significantly improves nut production.
A top CO2 absorbing species. Experts think this tree may help climate change more than others.
The Empress Tree is a fast growing, ornamental shade tree. It has purple, fragrant flowers that are quite attractive. The flowers emerge before the leaves in early spring. The leaves of this tree can grow very large, up to 30 cm long.
As one of the fastest growing trees in the world, this tree has been given considerable attention for carbon sequestration projects. It drops many seeds which can make it invasive in warmer climates. Please do some research and plant the right tree in the right place.
The Empress tree’s genus name comes from Princess Paulowna, daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia.