Catalpa Pros and Cons
When out on a walk I came upon a tree I had not seen before. It had seed pods that looked like elongated green beans. They were over a foot long! The neighbor who owned the tree said it was a catalpa. It produced loads of beautiful flowers in the spring and was very prolific. I was impressed with what seemed like an exotic tree growing so close to home. Was this something I should consider for my own yard? I did some research and found out there are pros and cons to the catalpa, sometimes for exactly the same features.
The pros: The catalpa grows pretty much anywhere with southern and northern varieties. It produces lovely, sweet-smelling flower clusters. It is a good shade tree that grows fast and thrives pretty much in any condition – poor soil, inadequate drainage, drought – a frequent choice for naturalizing. The wood is strong and has an interesting grain and is often used for fence posts. The tree attracts what are called catalpa worms, which are good fishing bait.
The cons: The flowers have a smell that may be overpowering. They also produce pollen that can be extremely irritating to those with respiratory allergies. When the flowers drop it is quite messy. The seeds scatter and plant themselves indiscriminately so it may be hard to control their spread and growth. The worms are actually the larvae of catalpa sphynx moths that can denude the tree.
Quite a mixed bag of characteristics. It makes me think of people, each of us with our own pros and cons both in relating to others and for our own development. We are strong but can be overpowering. We grow fast but we don’t always grow up. We can attract the right things to ourselves but may also crave them to excess.
When out on a walk I came upon a tree I had not seen before. It had seed pods that looked like elongated green beans. They were over a foot long! The neighbor who owned the tree said it was a catalpa. It produced loads of beautiful flowers in the spring and was very prolific. I was impressed with what seemed like an exotic tree growing so close to home. Was this something I should consider for my own yard? I did some research and found out there are pros and cons to the catalpa, sometimes for exactly the same features.
The pros: The catalpa grows pretty much anywhere with southern and northern varieties. It produces lovely, sweet-smelling flower clusters. It is a good shade tree that grows fast and thrives pretty much in any condition – poor soil, inadequate drainage, drought – a frequent choice for naturalizing. The wood is strong and has an interesting grain and is often used for fence posts. The tree attracts what are called catalpa worms, which are good fishing bait.
The cons: The flowers have a smell that may be overpowering. They also produce pollen that can be extremely irritating to those with respiratory allergies. When the flowers drop it is quite messy. The seeds scatter and plant themselves indiscriminately so it may be hard to control their spread and growth. The worms are actually the larvae of catalpa sphynx moths that can denude the tree.
Quite a mixed bag of characteristics. It makes me think of people, each of us with our own pros and cons both in relating to others and for our own development. We are strong but can be overpowering. We grow fast but we don’t always grow up. We can attract the right things to ourselves but may also crave them to excess.
I think I will pass on planting my own catalpa tree. My yard seems happy and mostly balanced. The catalpa feels like too much of a good thing.
Posts
Ferida, You never fail to come up with some fresh topic to write about. I had never heard of this tree either--and loved your comparison of it to people.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if the are eatable like a green bean??
DeleteNO! Do not eat them!
DeleteThey were used by ancient natives as a sot of psychedelic cigar after drying out the pods
DeleteThanks, Anonymous. I was excited to discover something so different just two blocks from my own backyard. As for nature and people - which is the metaphor?
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful commentary! The tree sounds so intriguing, I, too, began to think of planting one. Alas, it seems to have more cons than pros. Luckily, most of the people I know and love have more pros than cons.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a delightful read.
I have them. And love them, I have yet to ever see the negative side of this tree! They have beautiful flowers, that I can't smell at all! They have beautiful heart shaped leaves, and are great shade providers!
DeleteI grew up with one in my back yard. Today, in my ancient old age, I am just overcome with nostalgia for my childhood when I come across one in full bloom.
DeleteI also grew up with 3 beautiful catalpas on our front yard on our dairy farm and spent many hours on my swing hanging from a big branch and just admiring them. Now I plan to plant one in my yard even though I’m a senior
DeleteLoved your comment about people, Claire! Hope we all have those kind in our lives.
ReplyDeleteWe had a catalpa tree in our back yard as I was growing up. It was just gorgeous in the spring when it bloomed, huge puffs of fragrant white flowers. When their time was over, however, the tree was messy and destroyed my Dad's sense of order in his garden. I loved climbing that tree, nesting in its low branches and watching the birds flutter about. In the late summer, when the "johnny smokers" came out, we would collect them for a purpose that apparently is no longer important, probably because they were there, and we didn't have anything else to do.
ReplyDeleteI loved that tree until my dad chopped it down to plant a common red maple. What a loss.
We had a catalpa tree at out other house and loved it, so we planted one at our new house. I didn't know about the worms and will have to let my 2 neighbors know as they love fishing. I'm not sure about the mess as the tree at our other house was maybe 1-2 acres away from the house and my husband was the only one that was around it the most when he mowed around it all the time. He still likes it and is the one that got the one we have now. Hope the neighbors don't hate us too much...lol
DeleteThese trees are truly beautiful. My parents planted this tree next to a concrete walkway that connected the back door of the house to the front gate of an in ground swimming pool. The pool was west, the house was east, a 2nd story deck was north and open yard with grass was south. The tree grew very fast. It reached the roof line and began to shade in summer. The flower aroma drifted through the deck/porch, into the house, down under the deck into the basement and stretched to the pool, all depending on breeze of-course. My take on the fresh scent was obvious and sweet. I was seven years old when the tree was planted, and twelve when my folks cut it down. This was my first protest and realization that I was a tree lover. My mother on the other hand "hate those stupid beans, I pick them up all summer and those woooorms are just, ooh ugh" as my mom would put it. My suggestion, plant one of these when you know what your getting into. They have a face only a mother could love. lol.
ReplyDeleteThey are also called Johnny Smokers becasuse you can smoke the long dried out pods..🤗🤗
ReplyDeleteThe wood of a catalpa tree is not a hardwood. The limbs and branches are extremely prone to breakage during wind and ice storms. There may be some sort of cutting process they put it through to strengthen the wood but, if it's commonly used as fencing, I'd have to assume it's more likely to be for availability reasons over being a hard or strong wood. He's speaking, any tree that grows at fast as a catalpa isn't going to be a sturdy wood type. Oak, Ash, and Locust trees are hardwood and take several years to grow into nice shade trees. These catalpas are indeed extremely prolific and I could start my own nursery if I didn't mow my lawn regularly during the growing season. The little flower are quite a sight and grow in bunches that look like substantial bouquets spread all over amongst the rather large heart shaped leaves. They really do look quite exotic or like something out of a fairytale. Even more so when they're bare because the branches grow out in twists and curls. Kinda makes me think of something you might see in a magical forest. As long as you keep up with mowing your grass and cutting back any sprouts that might land in flower beds they're not that much of an issue. The stray trees I've got issues with certainly aren't the catalpas that surround my home. The seed pods and jumbo leaves are a nightmare though. I thought it was hailing or something the night before last as they were being blown onto my roof and hitting the sides and windows of the house. I have to pick up a few twisty branches every time I mow but they're really not to bad. I don't think the flowers are really all that fragrant and they're quite small blooms they aren't that messy really. They do produce a lot of blooms but, just like the magnolias, you'll miss them if you blink. The individuals blooms are no larger than a golf ball though and just wilt away. The seed pods do like to collect in the gutters though. I'd have to say that the seed pods are the biggest con as they do not break down quickly at all. I still think it's worth having one in your yard though. I wouldn't plant it terribly close to any structures if you can help it and no were you want grass to grow because they are excellent shade trees.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments, im with you, excellent shade trees, beautiful with blooms, and certainly not hard to manage! Folks with big yards should really consider them!
DeleteI live in a small town in the downtown area, I have one in our walkway. I hate it. It smells and leaves a mess, ruined 2 cars paint. I'd love for it to go away lol
DeleteI mean curing process.
ReplyDeleteWe love our beautiful catalpa tree, which has grown from a volunteer sprout we transplanted. Five years later it is two stories tall and graced with clusters of white blooms. The seed pods are interesting to look at, and although they don't break down, we don't mind them. The huge leaves give wonderful shade in a place in our yard (southeast) that needed some respite from the southern sun exposure. My only "con" is that we haven't gotten any sprouts, and my daughter wants one to start up in her yard!
ReplyDeleteHello, I’m dealing with the cons! This year there’s so many worms!! Today the patio table has hundreds of these little orange worms. Any recommendations with the worms? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteMy neighbour has a catalpa tree that hangs over my driveway. Messy white flowers cover my driveway.
ReplyDeleteRight now I have three garden waste bags full of the
‘beans’ from this tree and literally hundreds yet to
come down. Understand life span of this tree is 60 years!
The way you weave storytelling into your posts is captivating. I always look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeletebackyard pod Melbourne