Goldenrain Tree

Koelreuteria paniculata

Description

The Goldenrain Tree grows a rounded canopy with wide-spreading branches and attractive light brown bark. When other plants look hot and worn out during the summer, the Goldenrain Tree opens its stunning yellow blooms. In the fall, the leaves turn a beautiful golden-yellow color for a few days.

 

When the small flower petals break apart, they do fall like rain for a few days. The flowers are followed by inflated pods that look like Japanese lanterns. The lanterns start out bright green in the summer and turn golden brown in the fall. They fall a few weeks later than the leaves do.

 

Good for a low-irrigation landscape, this tree is a fast grower if it has good drainage and low to medium water. If it is planted in soggy soil, it will grow more slowly.

 

Goldenrain tree seedlings can pop up from the seeds. These are not a problem in a lawn because the mower will cut them off; but if they come up in a landscaped area, you should pull them out.

Goldenrain Tree
Goldenrain Tree

Size
Height: 20 to 30 feet
Spread: 25 to 40 feet
Growth Rate: moderate to fast

Irrigation needed: low to medium water
Fall Color: yellow
Flowers:  yellow clusters, 8 to 14 inches long in summer
Seeds/Fruit: showy 2-inch pods look like Japanese lanterns

Planting Distances
Front of green utility box: 8 feet
Building, swimming pool: 15 feet
Fence, paving, underground utilities: 6 feet
Overhead, high voltage lines: 20 feet

Summer Seedpods
Early Fall
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA