City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/22884
Goldenraintree fall color We can thank Thomas Jefferson for introducing goldenraintree to this country. Goldenraintree had already made its way to Europe when Jefferson, while serving as Minister to France between 1784 and 1789, struck up a friendship with Madame de Tesse, aunt of the Marquis de Lafayette. He was an avid horticulturist and encouraged his friends to send him seeds. It is recorded that on June 12, 1809, Jefferson received seeds of Koelreuteria from France and had a tree growing from them two years later at his home in Monticello, Virginia. Although it was reintroduced several times after that, we can thank Thomas Jefferson’s love of plants for this very tough urban tree. We now know that it is one of the most drought and heat tolerant trees and grows well all over the United States except where the winter tem- perature drops below -20 F (-29 C). It grows well in most soils except where drainage is poor. It is not a large tree, commonly reaching 20 feet (6 m) or, rarely, 40 feet (12 m) on a good site. In Ithaca, we grow it under utility wires with no problems 38 and have transplanted it successfully bare root at small (1.5 inch/38 mm) caliper. In Ithaca, in addition to the common goldenrain- tree, we have two variants, the cultivar ‘September’ and ‘Rose Lantern.’ Both these trees bloom later into the early fall and ‘Rose Lantern’s seedpods are a beautiful pink color before they turn tan. —Dr. Nina Bassuk, Director, Urban Horticulture Institute, Cornell University and Chair, Ithaca Shade Tree Advisory Committee K oelreuteria paniculata has been an adaptable medium-sized tree for us. Its eye-catching flowers usually peak here in late June and early July. Thus, it’s no coincidence that we lined the July 4th parade route with goldenraintrees some years ago. They now provide a spectacular setting for the annual parade. The flowers remind me of bombs bursting in air. Some of our goldenraintrees also draw calls each year for their pink “flowers” (seedpods) later in summer (probably ‘Rose Lantern’, though they weren’t marked as such when we purchased City Trees