Cercidiphyllum japonicum f. pendulum
Common name: 
Weeping Katsura Tree
Pronunciation: 
ser-si-di-FIL-um ja-PON-i-kum
Family: 
Cercidiphyllaceae
Genus: 
Cercidiphyllum
Synonyms: 
‘Pendula’
Cercidiphyllum magnificum 'Pendulum'
Type: 
Broadleaf
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Deciduous tree, weeping habit and rounded form, blue-green foliage.
  • Sun.  Grows best in moist well-drained soil, pH adaptable.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 4
  • Li et al. [HortScience 37(3):595-598. 2002] conclude from DNA sequence data and morphological evidence that all weeping katsura selections are phylogenetically derived from C. japonicum, not C. magnificum, nor are they of hybrid origin.  They proposed the new cultivar-group C. japonicum Weeping Group to include all katsura clones of weeping or pendulous habit.   Nurseries still often list the tree as Cercidiphyllum magnificum 'Pendulum'
  • This group includes the following named clones:
    • 'Amazing Grace'  -  discovered about 1960 by Theodore Klein, male, grows wider than tall, forms a rounded "billowing mass".  This may be the form sometimes sold as C. japonicum ‘Pendulum’, and most common in U.S. commerce.(Dirr, NMPro, Sept. 2000).
    • ‘Tidal Wave’  -  rounded, weeping, fast growing, blue-green foliage, must be staked to develop a leader, became available after about 1995, discovered by H. William Barnes.
    • ‘Morioka Weeping’  -  male, excurrent and upright, taller than wide, may reach 40-50 ft (12-15 m) high with a spread of 20-30 ft (6-9 m).  This it the pendulous clone described by Koller (1987) as C. magnificum ‘Pendulum’, it was obtained in 1981 from an historic tree near Morioka, Japan and widely distributed by Arnold Arboretum.
    • ‘Pendulum’  -   (syn.? ‘Pendula’)  weeping clone of rounded form, wider than tall, it can exceed 20 ft (6 m) at maturity with a spread of 25-30 ft (7.5-9 m). spread.
  • Silverton, Oregon: The Oregon Garden (labeled, Cercidiphyllum magnificum ‘Pendula’ but it does not show the excurrent and upright form described above for ‘Morioka Weeping’).

 

Click image to enlarge
  • plant habit, early spring ('Pendulum')

    plant habit, early spring ('Pendulum')

  • new leaves ('Pendulum')

    new leaves ('Pendulum')

  • plant habit, late spring ('Pendulum')

    plant habit, late spring ('Pendulum')

  • plant habit, summer ('Pendulum')

    plant habit, summer ('Pendulum')

  • container plant, spring ('Amazing Grace')

    container plant, spring ('Amazing Grace')

  • leaf, spring ('Amazing Grace')

    leaf, spring ('Amazing Grace')

  • plant habit ('Amazing Grace')

    plant habit ('Amazing Grace')

  • leaves ('Amazing Grace')

    leaves ('Amazing Grace')