Styphnolobium japonicum
Japanese Pagoda Tree
Common names: Honey Tree, Pearl String Tree
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Hardy
- Pruning
- Jan–Mar
- Flowering
- Aug–Sep
Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The Japanese Pagoda Tree (Styphnolobium japonicum) is a semi‑evergreen shrub to small tree in the Fabaceae family. It is often grown as a shrub and tolerates urban climates well. From August to September it produces loose, cream‑white flower spikes that appear later than most other trees, providing an important late nectar source for bees and bumblebees. After flowering, characteristic pearl‑string‑like constricted pods develop, giving the tree its second name. The feathery foliage stays fresh green into autumn and only turns yellowish late. All plant parts, especially the seeds, are mildly toxic; avoid feeding pods to children or pets.
Care instructions
Plant in full sun, warm location with well‑drained, not overly moist soil, ideally from late March (week 13). Water regularly during the first two to three years if dry, then the plant tolerates longer dry periods. Pruning is usually unnecessary; if you wish to maintain a shape, prune in winter during dormancy. The tree does not tolerate waterlogging; add a drainage layer of gravel or sand in heavy soils. Young plants benefit from winter protection in exposed sites; mature trees are winter hardy.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringAug–Sep
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, loamy, dry, lime-loving
The Japanese pagoda tree likes well-drained, rather dry to moderately moist soils and tolerates lime well. On heavy, waterlogged clay soils, however, it is unhappy, so drainage made of gravel or sand helps at planting. It forgives city climate, heat and poor soils with surprising calm, which makes it a robust specimen tree for the home garden.
Feeding
Light feeder
As an undemanding deep-rooted tree, the pagoda tree usually manages without any feeding. A mulch layer of leaf compost in spring is enough to supply young trees gently in the first few years. Soils that are too rich in nutrients tend to produce soft, frost-sensitive shoot growth, so it is better to hold back.
Pruning
In the first few years, formative pruning is worthwhile to build a stable crown with well-spaced main branches. Prune in late winter before bud break, while the tree is still dormant. Later it is enough to occasionally remove dead or crossing branches, though the pagoda tree tolerates larger cuts well.
Overwintering
Mature trees are completely hardy in Central Europe and need no protection. Young, freshly planted specimens will thank you in the first one to two winters with a trunk guard and a layer of mulch over the root zone. Late spring frosts can damage the fresh growth, but established trees quickly grow out of this.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
- Grafting
Sowing works best with seeds that have been scarified beforehand or soaked in hot water, since the hard seed coat otherwise delays germination. Softwood cuttings from this year's shoots will also root under plastic with a little patience. For selected cultivars such as weeping forms, nurseries turn to grafting onto seedling rootstocks. Young seedlings grow quickly in the first few years and tolerate a move to the open ground well.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
particularly well establishedLeguminous plants collect nitrogen in the soil, from which Brassicaceae benefit as heavy feeders.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 41 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
carrot family (Apiaceae)
Peas and beans provide carrot and celery with nitrogen and grow as shallow-rooted plants without competition next to each other.
For example CarrotCeleriacDillParsleyFlorence fennelCoriander and 21 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
Rather not
amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae)
particularly well establishedAllium species inhibit the nitrogen‑fixing rhizobia of legumes through their root exudates, which slows their growth.
For example GarlicOnionLeekChivesWild daffodilRocambole and 12 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop‑rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Japanese Pagoda Tree yourself
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