We bought a pretty small one last year from our arboretum. I love the idea of this plant.... not sure I will ever get ours to adulthood. The japanese beetles sucked the life out of the poor little thing last year. I sprayed, plucked the little buggers off, dusted...nothing could keep them away and I wouldn't even say we had a big problem with japanese beetles...they just seemed to come out of no where and seek out my poor little tree. Anyhow, by August, not a single leaf was left and it looked like a 4 foot stick in our yard. It was taking up prime real estate so my husband yanked it out of the yard and tossed it in the woods border (poor dead tree...). Well believe it or not, the damn thing is fully leafed out right now (and mind you when I say tossed, I mean it...roots were just sitting on top of soil and the tree was on its side). So since it was such a trooper we are going to baby it this year and put it in a bed to protect it. I knew a lot about the tree last year and can't remember much about it now. I remember it is a slow grower and I think it gets at least to 20 feet. They have some of them near the boston art gallery and they were at least that tall and quite spectacular. So, sorry I don't have much advice except to say that they must be delicious and that apparantly they will take some abuse :)

Lyn

I saw this post when it originally came up but was waiting to see if mine survived the winter and then how it grows. I, too, found conflicting information about is habit and growth.

From what I can tell so far is that yes it will need to be staked. All the new growth hangs down. However, I would not call it slow growing. All new growth is about 18" and is still going.

It's usual for weeping Katsura trees to require staking to build height, a 'Pendulum' I planted here some years ago has made a sort of table shape so far. It appears to grow shoots more that 2 ft. long each season, which make it broader but barely taller.

'Morioka Weeping' (distributed for some time as Cercidiphyllum magnificum 'Pendulum') is notable for hoisting itself up, since this is not the norm for such forms.

Note that trees do not normally "top out", even my weeping Katsura is getting a little taller as it ages, slowly piling up upon itself. A very tall coast redwood in California has rather vigorous new shoots coming up around its dead original top (these do appear to have a height limit imposed by their ability to get water all the way up to the top, but I believe this question is still under investigation).