Catalpa speciosa

The Northern Catalpa is larger than the Southern catalpa. Like the latter, it is little known in Quebec. Yet it is planted long ago in the rest of North America (especially in the United States) and Europe. Although the Northern Catalpa comes from the southern United States, it is tolerant to the southern Quebec climate. However, it is better to plant it away from the wind. It is also vulnerable to the early autumn frosts.

Interestingly, the natural range of the Northern catalpa is not very well established. It is a tree which is quite rare in the wild. It would grow spontaneously in western Tennessee and Kentucky. It is conceivable that, like for the ginkgo biloba for example, if we would not grow this tree, it would probably be in the process of disparition...

The flowers of this tree are beautiful. They look like the flowers of the orchid. White, spotted with yellow and purple, they attract the attention not only of humans, but also of insects and hummingbirds especially.

Planting Northern Catalpa, combined with the Southern Catalpa offers a spectacular bloom which lasts about a month and a half. Indeed, the Northern Catalpa flowering begins in June, while the one of the Southern Catalpa begins two to three weeks later (usually in July). On this point, the two species complement each other perfectly !

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cm ↕︎ : plant height
multicell. : wrapped root ball plug from a propagation tray
pot 1 gal. : wrapped root ball from a one gallon container