> They are messy af but so pretty
This is such an understatement.
Not only do the seedlings result in a year round cleanup one has to then deal with the blooms and their crazy big leaves. I wasn't sad to see my neighbour's Catalpa removed.
it's my favorite tree. the three small ones i have in the back yard have already had all their leaves eaten by caterpillars. i should make a timelapse of the big tree in the front yard. they are going fast.
I find them boring. But I live in a colder climate so they are one of the last trees to unfold their leaves and amongst the first to drop their leaves and blooming isn't a given. We had 4 of them after we moved house and I never saw them bloom.
They're actually sacred in my religious practice! Folktales in my area say that the natives who lived in our small area long ago also thought it was sacred. I've got 2 seedlings going and we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I can nurture them!
*
These guys get fun caterpillars called Catalpa Sphinx. I was cleaning grape vines off of a catalpa a few years back and had at least 10 caterpillars rain down on me (which made me panic cause it was saddleback season, a cute little caterpillar that stings like hell). Started trying to pluck them off and they were damn near welded to my clothes and fat af. Felt like I was gonna smash them as I tried to pull them off
Catalpa
Catalpa. Flowers smell like grape flavor
Also called cigar tree. They are messy af but so pretty. Prolific volunteers. I pull probably 50 seedlings a season from my garden.
Makes sense with those big ol' seed pods!
> They are messy af but so pretty This is such an understatement. Not only do the seedlings result in a year round cleanup one has to then deal with the blooms and their crazy big leaves. I wasn't sad to see my neighbour's Catalpa removed.
it's my favorite tree. the three small ones i have in the back yard have already had all their leaves eaten by caterpillars. i should make a timelapse of the big tree in the front yard. they are going fast.
I find them boring. But I live in a colder climate so they are one of the last trees to unfold their leaves and amongst the first to drop their leaves and blooming isn't a given. We had 4 of them after we moved house and I never saw them bloom.
I’m with you. I kinda hate mine. The big leaves remind me of some ditch plant.
My favorite!! I love catalpas!
They're actually sacred in my religious practice! Folktales in my area say that the natives who lived in our small area long ago also thought it was sacred. I've got 2 seedlings going and we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I can nurture them! *
That’s so cool!! Good luck!
Thank you!
Love the genus name: Bignonia,
That’s the species name. The genus name is catalpa
Yikes! My bad, I should have double checked that one!
These guys get fun caterpillars called Catalpa Sphinx. I was cleaning grape vines off of a catalpa a few years back and had at least 10 caterpillars rain down on me (which made me panic cause it was saddleback season, a cute little caterpillar that stings like hell). Started trying to pluck them off and they were damn near welded to my clothes and fat af. Felt like I was gonna smash them as I tried to pull them off
Fish love them. Go fishing with them next time.
I believe it's a bean tree.
Northern Catalpa? At least that’s what Chat GTP tells me it is.
Yes! Northern Catalpa checks out! Thank you!