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Golden Rain Trees

Rain trees originated in Asia, but immigrated here long ago. The Chinese used to make necklaces from the three hard black seeds contained in each bladder shaped papery seed capsule that covers the tree after the flowers have faded.

The Golden Rain tree blooms in summer, so it is a good choice if you want a flowering tree for when the spring bloomers have ceased to be the focal points in a garden. It is also a good choice if your garden or home palette includes warm colors such as yellows, reds and oranges.

The Golden Rain tree has pinnate leaves that provide filtered light, rather than dense shade, for plants growing beneath it. This makes it useful tree in the garden if the surrounding plants need sunlight.

As you may know, the leaves turn buttery yellow each fall. It has panicles of little yellow flowers raining down from the tips of the growing shoots so that a tree in full flower is breathtaking to behold.

Flower arrangers like to clip sprays of these seed pods for winter arrangements as they last for years and can also be sprayed gold for wreath accents.

If you live in zones 5-9 a Golden Rain tree would happily share a garden with you.

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