Japanese pagoda tree

Japanese pagoda tree: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Tree of 15–25 m with a broad, rounded crown.

Leaf

Alternate, pinnate, 15–25 cm, with 7–17 oval, pointed and untoothed leaflets 3–5 cm long and a terminal leaflet; underside blue-green. No spines.

Bark and twigs

Grey-brown and furrowed; young twigs strikingly dark green, even in winter.

Flower

Large, upright panicles of creamy pea flowers in August–September; young trees do not flower yet.

Fruit

Green, fleshy pods 5–8 cm long, constricted between the seeds like a string of beads; they hang on into winter.

Difference from false acacia

False acacia has blunt, oval leaflets, spines at the leaf base, white flower clusters in May and flat pods.

Difference from ash

Ash has opposite leaves with toothed leaflets and black buds.

Flowering: August–September · Pruning: July–August and November–February

Identify by feature: Pinnate leaves · Pods

Looks like it, but isn’t

• False acacia Robinia pseudoacacia: blunt, oval leaflets, spines at the leaf base, white flower clusters in May and flat pods. Difference from false acacia
• Ash Fraxinus excelsior: opposite leaf with toothed leaflets and black buds. Difference from ash

Why grow it?

• Flowers in August–September, when there are few other flowers: much loved by bees.
• Copes well with heat, drought and urban air.
• Elegant pinnate leaves and green twigs, even in winter.

Japanese pagoda tree: where does it grow best?

• Full sun; in shade it hardly flowers.
• Any well-drained soil; it tolerates drought but not wet feet.
• Allow a crown 12 m wide: too big for an ordinary garden, but handsome in a park, an avenue, a square or a very large garden.
• Don’t plant it over a patio, a drive or parked cars: falling flowers and pods make a mess of the paving.

Light

Full sun

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Dry

Size

18 m tall, 12 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Honey locust: Another airy tree that tolerates heat and urban air, for a mixed avenue or a park.
• Syrian hibiscus: Flowers at the same time in late summer and likes the same sun.
• English lavender: A sunny, dry border at its foot, for even more bees.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Tolerate the shade under this tree: oregon grape, rhododendron, oleaster, japanese skimmia, garden privet, camellia, laurustinus, box-leaved honeysuckle

Japanese pagoda tree: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant from November to March, root-balled.
2. Put a stake on the windward side and water well after planting.
3. Don’t plant it where young children play or animals graze: the seeds and pods are poisonous.
4. For a smaller garden there is the weeping form ‘Pendula’: a small tree with hanging branches, though it rarely flowers.

Care

Watering

In dry spells during the first year; rarely needed after that.

Feeding

Not needed.

Patience

A young tree only flowers after many years; give it time and a sunny spot.

Clearing up

Sweep up the fallen flowers after flowering, and later the pods, especially where children or pets go.

Tip: Want to help bees in late summer? A pagoda tree in a park or avenue flowers just when most other trees finished long ago.

Japanese pagoda tree: when to prune it?

Pruning months: July–August and November–February.

When: Dead, diseased and broken branches can be removed at any time of year. Formative pruning in winter or summer.

How:

• Little pruning needed. Shape a young tree with a single central stem and wide branch angles.
• Lift the crown of an avenue or park tree gradually and remove crossing and dead branches.

Caution: Wear gloves when working among the pods, and clear away prunings with pods wherever children or animals go.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

Soak the seeds overnight in warm water and sow them in a pot in spring; wear gloves, as they are poisonous.

Grafting

The weeping form ‘Pendula’ is grafted by the nursery.

Japanese pagoda tree: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Hardy in Belgium and the Netherlands.
• In winter you can recognise it by its green twigs and the bead-like pods still hanging on the tree.

Diseases and pests

• No flowers: Young trees do not flower yet, and in shade it hardly flowers at all. Patience and full sun are the answer.
• Falling flowers and pods: After flowering the ground is carpeted with petals, and later the pods fall: they make a mess of patios and cars.
• Wet soil: On wet, heavy soil it grows poorly and branches may die back. Choose a well-drained spot.

Through the year

• January: Formative pruning in winter; remove dead wood.
• February: Last month for winter pruning; plant in mild weather.
• July: Summer formative pruning possible, before flowering.
• August: Flowering: creamy panicles full of bees. Last month for summer pruning.
• September: Flowering ends; sweep up fallen flowers.
• October: Green, bead-like pods hang from the tree.
• November: Planting season; winter pruning can begin.
• December: Formative pruning; clear fallen pods wherever children or animals go.

What can you use it for?

For wildlife

Flowers in August–September, when there are few other flowers: much loved by bees.

Garden and landscape

Elegant park and street tree that copes well with heat and urban air.

Caution: The seeds and pods are poisonous.

Did you know?

• The name ‘pagoda tree’ refers to the temples where it grows in China and Japan. A yellow dye used to be made from its flower buds.
• Despite its scientific name japonicum, it comes from China; it was planted in Japan very early on.
• For a long time it was called Sophora japonica; it was later given a genus of its own, Styphnolobium.