It is popular in its native China for reforestation, roadside planting and as an ornamental tree. It grows well in a wide variety of soil types, notably poor ones, but needs a lot of light and does not like a high water table because of this it is perfect for Texas. Paulownia timber is a pale whitish coloured wood with a straight grain. Its characteristics of rot resistance and a very high ignition point ensures the timber's popularity in the world market. The wood is also important in China, Korea, and Japan for making the soundboards of stringed musical instruments such as the guqin, guzheng, pipa, koto, and kayagum. In World War II the wood was used in the Japanese Zero aircraft because of its lightweight and great strength. The tree is known to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions ten times more than the average tree and also in return produce ten times more oxygen (O2). It loves toxic waste and can be used to assist in organic remediation throughout the world.

Paulownia is known in Japanese as kiri (桐), specifically referring to P. tomentosa; it is also known as the "princess tree". It has been known as the Japanese Empress Tree in Japan. It was once customary to plant a Paulownia tree when a baby girl was born, and then to make it into a dresser as a wedding present when she gets married. It is the badge of the government of Japan (vis-à-vis the chrysanthemum being the Imperial Seal of Japan). It is one of the suits in hanafuda, associated with the month of December. Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopaedia (page 1189; Tokyo: Kodansha, 1993. ISBN 4-06-931098-3) states: The genus was named in honour of Queen Anna Pavlovna of The Netherlands (1795–1865), daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia to copy the tradition given by the Japanese in honor of the princess. Paulownia fortunei is a fast-growing tree that is grown commercially for the production of hardwood timber. Paulownia wood is very light, fine-grained, soft, and warp-resistant and is used for chests, boxes, and clogs (geta). The wood is burned to make charcoal for sketching and powder for fireworks, the bark is made into a dye, and the leaves are used in vermicide preparations.