Goldenraintree named Urban Tree of the Year

The Society of Municipal Arborists named Koelreuteria paniculata the 2011 Urban Tree of the Year.

 

The goldenraintree is a pest resistant, nonnative ornamental. Here in Roanoke, it does not show invasive tendencies, said John Blake Shores, certified arborist in Roanoke, Va. The structure is sound. It does not break easily when loaded with snow or ice. Here, it blooms in late June—at a time when most other ornamentals have finished blooming—bringing with it a strong fragrance.

 

The fall colors are brilliant. It is an attractive, hardy tree with nice shade and good limb structure and attachment. It is also drought tolerant.

 

One of the negatives of the tree is that it does not compete well with turf, but this problem is easily corrected with mulch. Some of the branches will cross, but light pruning will take care of this problem.