There are few trees who ‘have it all’ from an ornamental standpoint as much as the Northern Catalpa does. With huge, heart-shaped leaves emerging in the spring, sometimes reaching over a foot long before turning out a lemon-yellow foliage display in the autumn, and providing nearly countless long green pods that turn bronze during the late summer, it’s hard to imagine how a tree could outdo itself with it’s blossoms – but this is what the Northern Catalpa most certainly does each June.

The feature, fragrant blossoms, with their bright white petals and their purple speckles, contain traits that make them quite diverse in the species they support, as they feed pollinators both who fly by day (large Bees and Hummingbirds) and by night (Moths). Night-roaming pollinating moths are drawn to light-colored flowers which are best for reflecting moonlight (or local lights) and/or are fragrant. The Northern Catalpa checks off both of these marks, while providing a ‘runway’ for daytime pollinators with it’s speckled center.

The Northern Catalpa is a quality wind break during the leaf-out season. It’s also an incredible shade tree, great for relaxing under on a hot day and reading a book, or swinging on a tire from one of it’s sturdy mature branches. The leaves also lend themselves to arts and crafts for children. In short, they have so much to offer us as pollinator support, ornamental beauties, or as fixtures on a lazy summer day. Oh yea, and they also provide a treatment for snake bites (a poultice made with the leaves).

Care:

Northern Catalpa does well with at least several hours of direct sun. It is tolerable of various soils, as long as they are well-draining soils. Preferably, Catalpa is best suited for areas of your yard or meadow that are not low-lying spots. It appreciates periods of dryness at the soil surface level.

Northern Catalpa is very tolerant of wind exposure, and does well as a feature tree in an open area, or admist a cluster of trees. It’s a long-living tree, with specimens sometimes living over a 100 years, and can be with you and your family for a lifetime, so choose a wonderful spot to enjoy it with your area pollinators for decades ahead.

Image courtesy of the caretakers at The Plant Image Library.