Sunday 26 May 2013

Catalpa trees are amazing!

I decided to put all my Northern Catalpa
tree photos together. They are a beautiful Ontario tree.

Large, showy white, trumpet-shaped flowers grace the Catalpa in late spring. Its narrow crown is oval-shaped or uneven, upright with distinctively large, heart-shaped, bright green leaves and long, bean-like pods. Withstands wet, dry, alkaline soils and hot, dry environments, but prefers moist, deep soil. Sun or partial shade. Grows to 40'-60' with a 20'-40' spread. (Zones 4-8).


The birds love the tree, as it is beside our bird feeder!
This photo shows the frost damage on leaf buds from this month.

Daisy love the tree, and practices her bar routines on it!
Catalpa buds
This giant, old catalpa tree
is in Westport, Ontario

Flowers are beautiful!
There is some discussion about the tree in the NE U.S.A.(Catalpa speciosa).


INVADER OR RETURNING ALUMNI?
 Some say that outside of its native range, the northern catalpa is an invader. My home state of Connecticut has labeled the northern catalpa as having "demonstrated invasive tendencies", which is a no-no of the third degree."

Thing is, it can survive Montreal -30 C. temperatures, as well as being found in the north eastern US, to the south of us.
The flowers are a rich habitat for critters galore! Hummingbirds, bugs, bees, spiders!
Getting bugged!
Baby Buster (photo: June '11)
and Felix (Mar. 30, 2011 - Aug. 2010)

Buster loves this tree!

See it? Look closely! X marks the spot!


Leaves damaged by September hail storm They have huge leaves. The seed pods are amazing, too.

 Isn't it delightful?!
  In winter, the kittens had a blast in the other Catalpa tree!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love your photos. Those cats are so pretty and contrast well with the leaves.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I dunno, if it can survive temps like that and provides all that it does, it doesn't seem like an invasive to me. It's beautifull

jeffomatic said...

We have purchased an older home in Utah which came with two enormous old catalpas. They're just right to string a hammock between, and that's exactly what I'll do!