Catalpas are irregularly shaped trees shrouded in deeply ridged, coarse gray bark. These quirky trees grow quickly and can easily reach heights of 40-70 feet tall. Their rapid growth rate and ...

With its huge heart-shaped leaves, showy spring flowers and long seed pods, the catalpa tree adds serious wow factor to any backyard. It makes a lovely shade tree for the middle of a lawn, but it can ...

Area catalpa trees finished blooming toward the end of June. Their flowers resemble white orchids and are so beautiful. This is a tree you can grow from seed. I have three in different parts of my ...

My favorite blooms in early July decorate an unusual tree, once commonly found throughout Illinois and other nearby states. It’s a catalpa tree that was growing in the backyard when I moved in, and ...

Question: I have noticed a tree with large leaves that is flowering right now. What is it? Answer: The tree is northern Catalpa. Catalpa is an interesting tree that is related to Trumpet Creeper and ...

The street where I grew up in Connecticut was lined with Norway maple trees, mature enough to arch over the roadway, providing lovely shade. The outlier among them was the catalpa tree on our ...

As I write this, the many catalpa trees surrounding our farmyard are raining leaves. Last night we had our first frost, an occasion that causes all the catalpas to simultaneously shed all their leaves ...

The classic and trusted book “Fifty Common Trees of Indiana” by T.E. Shaw was published in 1956 as a user-friendly guide to local species. Nearly 70 years later, the publication has been updated ...

Question: There is some type of caterpillar eating all the leaves of my Catalpa tree. What is the recommended course of action? Answer: At this time of year, there are several large, varied-color ...

Q: The house we moved into has a big tree in the front yard, but we don’t know what kind it is. The leaves are huge and now, a bright yellow color and falling like mad. It also has long pods. Can you ...

Although I wrote about this phenomenon a few years ago, I’m revisiting the subject now because they have returned. The ‘they’ consists of masses of catalpa hornworms currently consuming the leaves of ...