In principle, the hardy blue bell or emperor tree (bot. Paulownia) is considered to be quite robust and resistant to many diseases and pests. However, the quite tasty leaves are not only interesting for humans but also for predators such as snails.
Older Paulownia rarely get sick
The young shoots are also eaten by snails. This may make your bluebell tree unsightly over time. Then you should cut it back thoroughly. You don't have to use chemicals to fight the snails. It is often enough to collect the voracious animals.
Another threat to your bluebell tree is fungal diseases. Luckily, they don't happen very often. The only solution here is to generously cut off the affected areas (shoots or leaves) so that the fungus cannot spread further. Thoroughly clean your cutting tool to prevent spreading to other plants.
Why isn't my bluebell tree blooming?
There can be a variety of reasons your bluebell tree isn't blooming. The first reason could be the age of the paulownia, because it only flowers when it is about three to five years old. However, since the bluebell tree grows very quickly in the first few years, flowering is often expected sooner.
Another reason for the lack of flowering is frost. The buds form in autumn. If the winter is very cold, they freeze to death. Unfortunately, the blue bell tree does not sprout the new buds until next autumn and you have to do without the wonderful blossom for a year. The only remedy is protection from the cold or the frost-free overwintering of a still small tree.
Prune your bluebell tree regularly, then make sure to prune before the new buds are set if possible. A later pruning does not harm the tree, but there is a risk of involuntarily removing the flower buds.
The essentials in brief:
- occasionally susceptible to fungal diseases
- Leaves popular with snails
- Reasons for not flowering: tree too young, buds frozen, pruning mistake
tips
If your bluebell tree isn't blooming, it's probably not a disease, it's a cold winter. Therefore, protect your tree from excessive frost.