Has anyone ever tried planting a Paulownia tree? They say they are the world's fast growing tree, 10 to 15 feet per year.

Too much invasive potential for my tastes:

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/pato1.htm

I don't know what your needs are heybud, but are you familiar with the Rainbow Eucalyptus? I tend to stay with indigenous species but I've seen large RE and they are beautiful trees.

http://eucalyptusdeglupta.com/

Plus, Rainbow Eucalyptus are chock full of those delightful Rainbow Koala Bears

No Theo.

No.

Man! GW that RE is a beautiful tree. I would love to have one of those babies. Doesn't sound like it can stand a hard freeze, which we could get in central Texas. My major requirement is something that grows fast. At my age I can't wait 10 or 15 years for a tree to get big.

Heybud if you want shade quick just plant a weeping willow next to your pond. It will grow from tig to 30 ft plus in less than 4 years. It will probably only last for 20 or 25 years so plant a nice hardwood just out of it's dripline and when it dies the hardwood tree should be big enough to replace it. Bald cypress grow fast next to water also but not near as fast as the willow does.

Did you ever plant one of these? If so, how is it doing?

From Wikipedia:

Paulownia tomentosa is listed as an invasive species in the southeastern United States, having been introduced there as an ornamental tree for its decorative flowers.

It is popular in its native China for reforestation, roadside planting and as an ornamental tree. Books[which?] say it grows well in a wide variety of soil types, notably poor ones, and needs a lot of light and usually does not like high water tables.

Testing by CSIRO in Australia has shown that Paulownia wood is very attractive for wood-boring insects.[2] Paulownia species are also used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Endoclita excrescens.

Paulownia is extremely fast growing; up to 20 feet in one year when young. Some species of plantation Paulownia can be harvested for saw timber in as little as five years. Once the trees are harvested, they regenerate from their existing root systems, earning them the name of the "Phoenix tree." Paulownia has the ability to reclaim ecologically stressed and degenerate patches of land relatively quickly.

Paulownia fortunei is an extremely fast-growing tree, grown commercially for production of hardwood timber. P. fortunei and hybrids containing P. fortunei, have been the main focus of genetic improvement since 1988 by Toad Gully Growers, a specialist Paulownia propagation nursery based in Australia who supply planting stock worldwide. P. fortunei generally displays better apical dominance than other Paulownia species along with greater adaptability to a wide range of soil types and climates.

Have had two in our yard for years. In Indiana it dies to the ground every winter, them grows as a multitrunk tree each year (up to 15 feet with huge leaves).

I was reading up on Paulownia kawakamii this morning (30-35' tall or 25-40' depending on the source) for a particularly rough area of our property (would like to find some rapidly growing "temporary" shade trees which will do the trick until we can get some slower growing hardwoods well established). I was pleasantly surprised when this pondboss thread came up on a generalized internet search for Paulownia Central Texas . I have several 20yr+ Albizia in SoCal which are considered to be invasive but have never had an issue with them mis-behaving and was curious how Paulownia.kawakamii responded. RAH, do you know what type of Paulownia you have? Thank you for all of the help.

I do not. They were given to me by a friend who passed away a few years back.

Thank you, RAH.