You can find the bluebell tree (bot. Paulownia tomentosa) in stores as a hardy plant. Depending on the species, it can tolerate more or less frost. However, this only applies to an older tree and neither to young shoots nor to the sensitive buds.
How hardy is the bluebell tree?
Older bluebell trees are hardy, but young shoots and buds are sensitive to frost. Young plants should overwinter frost-free in their first winter. Provide root protection with leaves or straw and possibly wrap the trunk.
If your bluebell tree has bloomed profusely and formed plenty of fruit capsules, these capsules will fall off in spring and the seeds will germinate on their own. However, these seedlings are very sensitive to frost and will usually freeze to death in the first winter without protection. They can only survive in a very mild area (wine-growing region).
How do I care for my bluebell tree in winter?
So that your bluebell tree can be in full bloom next spring, the buds that have already formed in autumn need a mild climate or winter protection. Cold frosty easterly winds make them freeze very easily. The paulownia is not entirely easy to care for. Even if the tree does not show any autumn colors, it will lose its leaves, this is completely normal and nothing to worry about.
You should always protect the roots of a bluebell tree from frost in a harsh area, even if it is older. You can easily do this with a thick layer of leaves or straw.
You may also want to protect the trunk by wrapping it with fleece (€34.00 on Amazon), jute or an old blanket. If the bluebell tree is not too big for this, then pull a foil or fleece over the entire tree so that the flowers and young shoots cannot freeze.
How do I overwinter a young bluebell tree?
At least in the first winter you should move your small bluebell tree to a frost-free winter quarters; only the woody shoots can tolerate the cold. It therefore makes sense to plant the tree in a pot and only move it to a place in the garden protected from the wind in the third or fourth year.
The most important things in brief:
- older trees are hardy, may require light winter protection
- It is better to overwinter young plants frost-free
- young shoots and buds very sensitive to frost
Tip
In an area with severe frosts or frequent late frosts, the bluebell tree is often difficult to get to bloom. If the sensitive buds freeze, the only solution is frost-free overwintering.
