From China, Paulownia fortunei is a close relative of the more commonly P. tomentosa.
It has similar qualities to tomentosa but is somewhat less vigorous. Paulownias have very attractive foxglove like flowers which emerge either before or at the same time as the foliage in spring. They are also a great addition to a jungle garden, and once a few years old, can be pollarded hard, sending up new growth with huge 10 inch+ leaves - over a summer the new growth can be over 10ft! If regularly pollarded, you will miss out on the flowers, but this is more than compensated for by the super sized leaves.
