Simple tips for growing low-maintenance yellowwood

Yellowwood is the perfect shade tree for yards where lack of space is a consideration. Here are some simple tips for selecting and growing the low-maintenance tree.

Growing about 30 centimetres (12 inches) per year until it reaches 12 to 15 metres (40 to 50 feet) at maturity, this tree has attractive spreading branches and feathery leaves that together form a full, round canopy.

• The light green, oval leaves turn yellow in autumn, contrasting with smooth gray bark that wraps itself into folds and crevices of the trunks of old trees. The fall colour is all the more striking when the tree is showcased against a brick building or backed by dark, dense evergreens, such as pine trees.
• Yellowwood flowers in late spring or early summer, after the peak bloom of many other trees. Young trees bloom sparsely, if at all, and a mature tree may produce blossoms only every two to three years.
• Ironically, yellowwood flowers more often when it is stressed by drought. When it does flower, the effect is thrilling. The cascades of white blossoms, resembling those of wisteria, drip from the branches, often reaching 38 centimetres (15 inches) long.

• The American yellowwood (Cladrastis kentukea), a North American native, adapts easily to many climates and growing conditions. There is one variety, 'Rosea', which has pink flowers.
• The Japanese yellowwood (C. platycarpa) blooms a little later and its white flowers, which are marked with yellow, grow only 25 centimetres (10 inches) long.
• For a slightly different flowering form, look for Chinese yellowwood (C. sinensis). This species has narrower, finely textured leaflets, and the pink-flushed flowers stand in erect pyramids. It is not quite as hardy as is American yellowwood, but it makes a distinctive specimen from Zone 6.

• Plant yellowwood in early spring, keeping the soil ball intact to avoid root damage. Yellowwood grows poorly in soggy soil, but will spread its deep fibrous roots readily in most other soil types.
• In open situations, where it does not have to struggle for light, yellowwood spreads its branches to a width of nine metres (30 feet).
• Prune away any that form a narrow angle or that may be weak and easily snapped off in icy weather. This is important because the botanical name of the genus means "brittle branch."
• If pruning is needed, do it in late summer or early fall while the target branches are still small. Avoid pruning in late winter or early spring to minimize excessive sap flow from cuts.
• Yellowwood is not troubled by any pests or diseases.

Yellowwood trees are low-maintenance and ideal for the busy gardener. Consider planting them with Japanese maple, lace-bark pine, red-osier dogwood, pine and false cypress to create a beautiful outdoor space.