Cladrastis kentukea (lutea) ‘Perkins Pink’

Description

American yellowwood is a medium-sized, deciduous tree that typically grows with upright branching and a broad, rounded crown. It is noted for its pinnately compound foliage, panicles of fragrant white spring flowers, autumn seed pods and yellow fall color.

The wood of this tree contains a yellow dye that distinctively colors the heartwood and gives rise to the common name of yellowwood. ‘Perkins Pink’ is an uncommon pink-flowered cultivar that was originally discovered in the 1930s at the Perkins Institute for the Blind, Watertown, Massachusetts.

Intensely fragrant, wisteria-like, pink flowers in large, drooping, terminal panicles (10-15” long) will cover a mature tree in late spring.