Northern Catalpa

Catalpa speciosa

Northern Catalpa is a native deciduous tree with an irregular crown and very large green foliage that turns bright yellow than black in fall. Its clusters of large white flowers with orange and purple inner markings bloom in late spring or early summer, and are followed by long and showy bean-like seed capsules.  Grows best in loamy and moist well-drained soils.  Tolerates urban conditions, drought, poor soil, and wet soil.

MAINTENANCE NEEDS: Low maintenance.  No serious disease or pest issues. Can susceptible to verticillium wilt, leaf spot, mildew, and twig blight.  Catalpa Sphinx Moth larvae can cause considerable foliage damage.

LANDSCAPE USES:  Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Woodland Gardens, Native Gardens, and Urban Gardens.

COMPANION PLANTS:  Lilac, Viburnum, Spiraea

IMAGES: carlfbagge,  IMG_7786 Catalpa Tree in Full Bloom (Catalpa speciosa?), (2) Photoset by Bruce Kirchoff, Catalpa speciosa, (1) 05 1695 , (2)  46 1727, (3) Plant Image Library,  Catalpa speciosa (Northern Catapla), (4) Andrey Zharkikh,  2015.09.05_11.29.23_DSC00269 

*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.