Wild Wednesday: Catalpa Tree

I have this tree...

Actually it's a stump with regrowth of its former tree self sprouting from the base. It looks terrible in the winter when all you see are limbs and trunk, but in the summer it gets pretty full and blocks my view of a house across the street. The leaves are huge and the "branches" (if you can call them that) hang low and get in the way when I mow.

This year, however, I noticed the tree has flowers. I'm not sure what I was doing last year at this time, but apparently I was too busy unpacking and decorating my house to notice.

So now I care. I asked my friend Justina if she knew what kind of tree it was, or if she could recommend a resource I could use to figure it out.

Success.

It's a Catalpa or Catawba tree.

Catalpa can be recognized by its large heart-shaped, sharp pointed leaves, showy white or yellow flowers and long fruits which resemble a slender bean pod.

Catalpa Speciosa (Northern Catalpa) grows into a loose oval shape, 50 feet tall in most urban locations, but occasionally grows to 90 feet under optimum conditions. This large-leaved tree spreads 50 feet and tolerates hot, dry weather, but leaves may scorch and some drop from the tree in very dry summers. The trees have a coarse, very open growth habit forming an irregularly shaped crown. Catalpa has a moderately-long life (60 years or so), but trunks on large trees often contain rot. Catalpas are very adaptable and they are tough trees, having naturalized in many parts of the south.

Catalpa growth is rapid at first but slows down with age as the crown begins to round out and the tree increases in spread. The main ornamental feature is flower panicles of white with yellow and purple markings produced in spring and early summer, depending on the particular tree. Leaves fall throughout the summer in USDA hardiness zone 8 making a mess and the tree looks ragged with yellow leaves in late summer.
Catalpa bark is thin and easily damaged from mechanical impact. The limbs will droop as the tree grows, and will require pruning for vehicular or pedestrian clearance beneath the canopy. Pruning is required to develop a strong structure. The limbs are resistant to breaking and very stout.

The Catalpa fruit is a long pod growing up to two feet long. The fruit resembles a string bean and can be a slight litter problem after seeds are dispersed. The old pod shells are persistent on limbs but will eventually drop. Still, the pod is quite interesting and adds flavor to an ornamental specimen.

Aren't the flowers neat?