Sophora japonica
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Tried and True Recommended by 2 Professionals
Common Name: Japanese pagoda tree
Type: Tree
Family: Fabaceae
Zone: 4 to 8
Native Range: China, Korea
Height: 50 to 75 feet
Spread: 50 to 75 feet
Bloom Time: July to August
Bloom Color: White
Bloom Description: Creamy white
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Low
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Fruit: Showy Fruit
Tolerates: Drought, Air Pollution
Uses: Shade Tree, Street Tree

Culture

Best grown in rich, medium moisture, well-drained sandy loams in full sun to part shade. Best in full sun. Tolerant of common city pollutants and conditions. Once established, it is also tolerant of heat and some drought. Newly planted saplings may not flower for as long as the first 10 years.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Japanese pagoda tree is native to China and Korea, but not Japan. It is a medium to large deciduous tree that typically matures to 50-75’ (less frequently to 100’) tall with a broad rounded crown. It is generally cultivated for its attractive compound foliage and fragrant late summer flowers. Pinnate leaves (to 10” long), each with 7-17 oval, lustrous, dark green leaflets, remain attractive throughout the growing season. Leaves retain green color late into fall, resulting in no fall color or at best an undistinguished greenish yellow. Small, fragrant, pea-like, creamy white flowers (each 1/2” long) bloom in late summer in sweeping terminal panicles to 12” long and to 12” wide. Flowers fall to the ground around the tree after bloom covering the ground with a blanket of white. Flowers give way to slender, 1- to 6-seeded, knobby, bean-like pods (to 3-8” long) that mature to brown in fall and persist into winter. Although not native to Japan, the specific epithet and common name seem to recognize the early use of the tree in Japan around Buddhist temples. This tree is also commonly known as Chinese scholar tree.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems. Twig blight, verticillium wilt, canker, powdery mildew and rust may occur. Watch for leaf hoppers.

Garden Uses

Lawn or street tree.

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