I hate the smell of Ailanthus saplings, it makes me sick but i havent noticed that with the older trees . I have 3 Ailanthus trees that are at least 40 inches DBH and 60 ft tall , the 2nd largest in the state i think. Delaware has a book of big trees of all species and where i work we have several on that list . We have the largest black cherry in the state 73inch DBH. Anyway back to Paulownia, some people around here grow it for the valuable wood that is sold to japan for hope chest carvers. There have also been people arrested for going on to private or state land and cutting trees down to get the valuable wood.JPM