Yellowwood is a very attractive medium to large tree for a prime spot in the landscape. It gets 30-45 feet tall and wide, has smooth gray bark, and has beautiful fragrant clusters of creamy white, wisteria-like flowers in the spring. Flowering can be so abundant that the fallen flowers look like snow on the ground. Yellowwood likes alkaline soil that is well drained and of average fertility. It wants full sun. This tree in flower is absolutely breathtaking.

2 replies

A most lovely small to medium size tree in landscapes, but can get large in nature. Its native range is in northern Arkansas & southern Missouri to spots in Kentucky and Tennessee and just over the NC & VA borders. with or near forest in coves, ravines, river valleys, slopes, and ridges over streams. It grows about 1 to 2 feet/year and lives about 100 to 160 years. Its compound leaves have 7 to 11 rounded leaflets that turn yellow or golden in the fall. The slightly fragrant, white, pea-like flowers are borne in hanging spikes in late May to early June. It has smooth gray bark similar to beech. Its root system has deep, coarse lateral roots, but it transplants easily when small and young in spring to B&B. One reliable source lists this species as hardy to USDA Zone 3b. This wonderful tree is sold by some large diverse nurseries, native plant and specialty nurseries. It is not well known and is mostly planted by landscape designers and architects, so it is infrequently found.

Reply to this comment