July Blooming Japanese Pagoda Tree

Japanese Pagoda tree (Styphnolobium japonicum), formerly Sophora japonica, is medium-sized tree that grows to 50 feet high, but seeing one 75 feet is not unusual in the southeastern U.S. Pagoda tree is native to eastern Asia (USDA hardiness zones 4 –8) where it is also called “Scholar tree”.

Japanese Pagoda Tree

What really makes pagoda tree strikingly different is its flowering time in July-August, when few landscape trees are blooming. Its pea-like, creamy-white flowers are showy, wisteria-like, and fragrant. The 12-inch long flower clusters droop off the branch tips. Fall color is rated average, leaves turning yellow.

In the early days of autumn, 3 to 8 inches long green fruits, best described as string of pearls, form and persist way into winter. Birds don’t are not attracted to the berries; they turn black, shrivel, and linger through winter. By spring the tree has shed most of the twiggy fruit rachises.


Pagoda tree grows in full to partial sun (6-hours minimum) and in a moist well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Pagoda tree tolerates urban drought, air pollution, and moderate soil salinity around coastal beach areas. The tree is rarely troubled by serious disease or insect problems.


Annual growth rate ranges from 18 to 24 inches. Summer foliage is comprised of 8-10 inch long, pinnately compound leaflets numbering 7 to 17. In some years its golden fall color can be spectacular.


Some cultivars, including weeping and upright (columnar) forms, are available. ‘Regent’ is the most popular cultivar, high valued as a vigorous grower and lustrous green foliage.