Unless you have flood irrigation the Royal Paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa) might not be a good choice. Its a native of eastern Asia and in general terms large leaves means plants requires lots of water - this tree needs at least 40 inches per year. In the US it's range extends from the southeast into southeast Texas, meaning the north is too cold and the southwest too hot/dry. The soils here are alkaline and this tree likes acidic or neutral soils.

The Jacaranda will give you clusters of purple flowers similar to the Paulownia, however it is sensitive to cold temps especially when young.

You might also consider the Chitalpa tree (Chitalpa taskentensis). This is a cross between our native Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) and the Catalpa (Catalpa bignonioidesa). The Pink Dawn has lovely ruffled, tubular pink flowers from April through November.

It's available at most local nurseries and is grown by the wholesale Mountain States Nursery in Peoria so plants are well adapted from the start.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chitalpa 'Pink Dawn'

I agree with Aztree as usual, paulownias don't seem very happy in the desert southwest. I see them planted now and then, and they do pretty well when very young, but when they mature (which doesn't take long) they tend to have a lot of dead wood and stunted growth from not getting as much water as they want.

Desert willow is a very, very wonderful tree and would be a nice alternative. You can find them in various colors and they bloom literally for months on end and need very little water. I see them even growing un-watered on roadsides around Scottdale and Carefree blooming like crazy. If given even a bit of regular water they'll do even better. Chitalpas are indeed also very nice if you like something with broader, greener leaves.

Let us know if you give a paulownia, or a different tree, a try and how it does for you. Good luck!

Take care,
Grant

So those are Jacaranda trees, my husband and I have always wondered what those were. I love the purple blossoms, in fact I love both of these options, now to decide which one to plant. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for the advice.

When we went to Singh Farms, I asked what all those huge lovely trees were and they told Paulownia. I asked if they grew well here and he just laughed and pointed up..Don't know if they are Royal Paulownia or not. But they sure looked good, and they were huge. He said they grew fast and pointed to a lot of seedlings that were about 4 feet high and only a few weeks old.

That is the tree. Fast growing shade trees. Will grow faster than any other.

where can I get a seedling of this tree? besides online? is there any place local thats selling it?

Ill have some ready end of Sept

how much? and which type is it? tomentosa?

I love the Desert Willow as well, have 9 of them, the blooms are beautiful, and they make nice dappled summer shade. Does anyone have a Willow Acacia? and if so any pro's or con's about them? I am looking for a tallish tree, for a fairly narrow spot, more of a sun block for a window more than anything, a Desert Willow, won't work in this spot, it's too close to a gate, window, and walk thru area. Any suggestions would be so helpful.

Willow acacia pros: Fast-growing. Fragrant blooms, nice foliage, attractive. Tall and narrow, therefore good for tight spots like a side yard. Few pests (it's from Australia).

Cons: Roots cannot keep up with canopy, causing wind throw. Fast growth = weak growth; one wind gust can tear the tree apart. Suckering and seedlings. Relatively short-lived (20-30 years). Last year's freeze in Tucson killed almost every Willow Acacia, so they've fallen out of favor here (may not be a problem in your area). Uses more water than natives.

We had 2; one lost 3 main limbs during a windstorm and was unsalvageable. The other froze to death last year.

Juttah is correct about the wind throw for willow acacias. I had nine of them when we first had the backyard done. They were 6 feet tall. A year later they were 15 feet tall. I had them staked with cables that connected to 18 inch steel rods in the ground. I thinned them regularly. Within a period of 18 months we lost every single one to wind. They came crashing down during monsoon, snapped the cables and one smashed into a lemon tree, which is still alive thankfully.

I replaced them with ironwoods and jacarandas. They are all still standing and doing just fine. That was about 3 years ago.

I love Jacarandas, love them, beautiful..but way, way, too big for the small narrow area I have. It needs to be tall and slender..we have horrible wind storms here, tears up everything so doesn't sound like the willow acacia's will do. This last storm a few days ago ripped my swing canopy in half, blew down fairly heavy pots on the patio and blew the lid off the veggie garden. Wind, is an issue. Thanks for your warnings. Any other ideas for tallish (20ft-30ft) narrow type trees? Thanks for all the help and advice.

What about Palo Blanco (Acacia willardiana) - they're wispy but you could cluster 2-3 together to get an aspen-grove effect. They have white peeling bark that looks very attractive, especially with night lighting.

If you can stomach Italian Cypress (I can't, they are all over my mid-70's neighborhood) they are exactly what you want - tall, narrow, wind-resistant. We had 80 mph winds several days ago which took out a dozen mesquite but not a single cypress though they are twice as tall as the mesquites.

Juttah, you picked one of my absolute favorites in the Palo Blanco... they're gorgeous.

If you like the shape of the Cypress trees, the "Blue Ice" cultivar is lovely. I don't think it will take drying winds as well as some of the Italians do, but it's a possibility...

Royal Paulownia is for sub-tropical wannabes. It would be the last thing I'd plant if I actually lived in a mild-winter area such as yours, just because you have so many other interesting things to choose from that are more appropriate. Here in zone 6 I would be ecstatic to some of those things zooming toward the sky, but so far I have not managed to find any potted plants large enough to survive their first year. The Royal Paulownia business is mostly mail-order it seems, with miniscule seedlings being sent out.

Unfortunately, they've become very invasive in some parts of the country - Tennessee being one of them. It's really a shame.

Paulownia Elongata is not an invasive specie and grows well in the US, but I really like Shan Tong since timber wise is a much better veriety. Reach out to me with and questions or if you need the seedlings, I have the knowledge and can provide them both. 253.820.2406.