Paulownia's are horrible (growing, trees, backyard, leaves)

[trlhiker]

I have a Paulownia Empress Tree in my backyard. for the first 2 years after I cut it back it grow nice and shady but now it seems to be mostly seed pods and few leaves. it looks horrible and I absolutely hate the seed pods. I am seriously thinking of cutting it down this fall and replacing it with something else. Should I do it or let it grow one more year and if I do cut it down, what should I replace it with? I want a fairly fast growing tree to about 40ft. Thanks.

[uggabugga]

they are really fast growers, aren't they? good luck trying to get rid of it though, they pop back up all over the place like chinese elms so you'll probably want to grind the stump.

[Luvvarkansas]

The power company tree-cutters cut a tree on my fence once, then they sprayed it with some kind of green-colored stuff, and that thing never resprouted, nor did any suckers come up, and it's already almost rotted away....been about 3 years, I guess, maybe 4.

[JQ Public]

They are exotic invasive trees that seem to takeover the edges of highways. They are fastgrowing but not very pretty. I'd cut it down and plant a native tree that looks good in our habitat.