Prune empress tree after you decide whether you want spring flowers or giant leaves. Flowers sit on last year's wood, so a hard winter cut drops the bloom.
Decide first: flowers, or a coppice for giant leaves
| Factor | Recommended | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Flowering tree | Keep last year's wood; prune after bloom | Do not cut that ripe wood in winter if you want flowers |
| Giant leaves | Cut to a low stool in late winter, then keep one sprout | Do not leave a thicket of competing shoots |
| Wood | Take out dead, crossing, or weakly attached limbs | Do not leave a narrow crotch on a brittle tree |
Empress tree does two different jobs, and they do not share one cut. Leave last year's twigs if you want the lavender panicles. Cut the plant to a stool if you want the huge summer leaves, knowing you will skip bloom that year. [1] The wood is weak, so a flowering tree still needs a clean framework, not a topping. [2] Site and watering stay on How to Grow Empress Tree.
For flowers, prune after bloom and keep last year's wood
Buds for next spring form in fall and hang on the bare tips. If you shear those tips in winter, the flowers are gone. Wait until the panicles fade, then take out what the wind would break anyway.
- After bloom, cut dead, crossing, or broken wood back to the collar.
- Remove a limb with a poor attachment, because this wood splits under a load of leaves after rain.
- Lift low branches a little each year if you need to walk under the crown, not all at once.
- Do not top the tree. A hard cut on the leader only starts a cluster of weak sprouts.
When should I prune a flowering empress tree?
After bloom. Winter cuts take next spring's flowers with them.
For giant leaves, cut it to a low stool in late winter
A late-winter cut at the ground, or a few inches above it, pushes thick sprouts with leaves that can reach two feet across. After one to three years on a young plant, the same cut also straightens a crooked trunk if you keep only the strongest shoot. [3] Those sprouts can top eight to sixteen feet in one season, so they need room, and they will not flower while you repeat the cut. [4]
- In late winter, cut the stems to a low stool, a few inches above the soil, with a clean slant.
- When new shoots are about six inches tall, keep the strongest one and rub off the rest.
- Water and mulch that sprout through summer, because the giant leaves transpire a lot.
- Repeat the late-winter cut each year if you want the foliage show, not bloom.
Will a coppiced empress tree still flower?
Not while you cut it every winter. Flowers need last year's wood.
If there are no flowers this spring, last year's wood was cut. Next time wait until after bloom, or keep the stool cut if giant leaves were the goal.
FAQ
Can I keep it small without coppicing?
A light after-bloom prune steadies the framework, but it will still try to become a large tree. Size control that lasts is the stool cut.
Does a hard cut kill the tree?
No. Roots send up sprouts. That is the coppice. If you want the tree gone, keep cutting those sprouts until they stop.
Related guides
Recommended plants
References
- [1] NC State Extension Gardener -
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/paulownia-tomentosa/ - [2] University of Florida IFAS Extension -
https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/ST433 - [3] University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension -
https://publications.ca.uky.edu/sites/publications.ca.uky.edu/files/for39.htm - [4] University of Maryland Extension -
https://www.extension.umd.edu/resource/princess-tree-empress-tree
This note is part of Paulownia Guides.
More pruning timing notes by plant live in Pruning Guides.
Updated: Reviewed by Bosquelle Editors