Golden Chain Tree lined up my driveway

Golden Rain trees are a fast-growing 20' tree that declines and dies in 20-25 years. In So La they are prone to insect bark damage and bark splitting during hard freezes. In their prime they put on a glorious display with mounds of small golden flowers which rain down and cover the ground. The bloom is followed by attractive seed pods. They self-seed extensively, but the sprouts are easy to weed out. Some people like them and some hate theme. I had two clumps die and did not replace.

trash tree

That looks beautiful! Like golden wisteria.

I once received a job performance evaluation that included, “Darla could not identify a tree that we saw, but I guess she can’t know everything.” The tree was a golden rain tree, seen from a distance. Believe me, I now know what that tree looks like.

Glad to be retired and not penalized for ignorance of Golden Chain trees. Not that I was penalized the other time. My boss thought it was hilarious. Plus, she couldn’t identify one, either.