The foliage is rich green in the summer. It's a nice contrast to most of the dark greens on other trees and shrubs. The summer green leaves give way to a beautiful soft, yellow fall color. The smooth gray to brown bark adds a special winter highlight. The pale gray, smooth trunk and branches have a sinewy, touchable quality, providing a strong, winter presence.
Young plants are slow-growing, and larger plants are hard to transplant.
Yellowwood prefers well-drained soils, either acidic or basic. Young trees require pruning to avoid narrow crotches which readily develop in this tree. Prune it after the tree fully leafs out, since winter and early-spring pruning cuts will bleed excessively. Even with these narrow crotches, the branches rarely seem to break. This tree has few insect or disease problems, either.