Plant Library

Other Names:  Fox Tail Katsura Tree

Description:

Compact, columnar habit, excellent for smaller spaces; foliage has an attractive bronzy-purplish color during summer; as leaves turn color in fall they have a distinct burnt sugar smell; foliage will have the best purple color in full sun

Ornamental Features

Red Fox Katsura Tree is primarily valued in the landscape for its rigidly columnar form. It has attractive deep purple foliage with green veins which emerges burgundy in spring. The heart-shaped leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding harvest gold in the fall. The shaggy brown bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Red Fox Katsura Tree is a deciduous tree with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Red Fox Katsura Tree is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade

Planting & Growing

Red Fox Katsura Tree will grow to be about 40 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 25 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 4 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.