Kentucky Coffee Tree
Gymnocladus diocus
Size: #15
60 feet high x 40 feet wide
Zone 3
Full Sun
Out of stock
Kentucky Coffee Tree is absolutely a gorgeous tree throughout all seasons! It is late to break dormancy in spring, which is a good thing given our unpredictable spring weather. Once the leaves do emerge they form bipinnately compound leaves (many small leaflets attached) that grow upwards of 3’ long and 2’ wide. Once the leaves shed in autumn, the rugged bark of the tree is exposed adding a wonderful winter accent.
Consider using the Kentucky Coffee Tree as a boulevard tree or sitting on the south side of your home providing relief from the summer sun while letting the winter sun shine thru. Although native to the upper Midwest, the Coffee tree performs very well in our western soils. Female trees form large seed pods (we can’t tell you which is male and which is female). Our research and experience suggest that this tree has high immunity to insects and disease. Very good drought tolerance once established.
Throughout this site, the following are used as guidelines for watering established plants:
These truly xeric plants can live with our 12 inches of natural annual precipitation and only need a winter watering during a multi-year drought, but they will thrive with a monthly watering. Overwatering will kill some of these. These plants are adapted to intermittent deep
watering with soil drying to a depth of a few inches between waterings. Watering frequency may be every couple of weeks during the active growing season and maybe only one winter watering for optimal care. These plants need regular watering somewhat like a bluegrass lawn so that
they never dry to depth in the root system during the active growing season, and need occasional winter watering to prevent root dessication and resultant plant
death. About sizes of our plants:
Sizes indicated with a # are roughly the equivalent in gallonage; so a #2 is about a 2 gallon pot size; b&b stands for balled and burlapped.