Japanese Pagoda Tree ‘Regent’ · Sophora japonica ‘Regent’

A medium-growing deciduous legume, this is a street and avenue selection (plátano de sombra alternative) of the Japanese pagoda tree, chosen for a tighter, more uniform upright-oval crown than seedlings, faster establishment, cleaner glossy foliage and earlier, more dependable flowering. Where seedling stock can take three to four decades to bloom well, this cultivar reaches a useful flowering crown far sooner, which matters when the tree is specified for its July-to-September display. Mature height runs to roughly 15 to 20 m with a comparable spread on the straight species; the selected crown reads as more upright and regular in alignment.

The climatic envelope across Spain is wide. It withstands heat, drought and air pollution once established, and its tolerance of compacted soils and reflected urban heat suits it to confined pits and hard-surfaced streets in Mediterranean coastal and interior continental settings. Hardy to roughly -12 °C or below, it carries the cold of the central plateau (meseta) winters as well as the aridity of the southern and eastern littoral. Its preference is full sun and free-draining loamy or sandy soils; growth and flowering both improve after a hot summer.

Water demand is moderate. Through the first two to three summers it needs supplementary irrigation to establish the root system; once settled it tolerates extended dry spells and irrigation cut-off without decline, which eases water-use planning in landscape submissions (proyecto de ajardinamiento) under regional drought restriction.

As a member of the Fabaceae, it sits outside the known host range of Xylella fastidiosa, an advantage where Olea and other susceptible genera are constrained. It carries no serious pest or disease pressure. The mature wood is brittle, so formative pruning to a sound branch structure is worthwhile on exposed sites to limit limb loss in strong wind or under wet snow.