Is This Tree Right for My Garden? Judging Benefits + Challenges. Catalpa As An Example

When choosing a tree for our gardens, permaculture systems, orchards, and food forests, it is important to understand the benefits, yields, and assets the trees bring to the design. It is also important to consider the challenges, and whether they are acceptable.
Let's take a look at the Northern Catalpa, a gorgeous insectiary tree, laden with huge clusters of with fragrant blossoms in the summer, as an example of how to weigh whether a tree is right for a small urban garden, a larger food forest setting, or a zone 5 wild unmanaged plot in our systems.
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[@janetbrewster680]

I had one of these in the backyard of my suburban townhouse. It was enormous, the most stunning tree in the area. The leaves grew to about 15 inches across. The neighbours did not appreciate it as it dropped its leaves as the temperatures rose covering their yards and decks with a thick blanket of dying foliage. I lived in south western BC, near the ocean. Within less than a year of moving, the strata decided to chop it down, no doubt egged on by the neighbours nearby. I wonder if they considered the impact on their heating and cooling by losing that beauty. It was too big of a tree to be squashed between four townhomes, but still, it made my heart sad to lose it.

[@eleonorabartoli2225]

I live in high desert zone 5/6 and happen to have one of them in my front yard. I love it! And the shade is the best, due to the large leaves. I have not noticed any stress from the heat, although I water the flowers under it often, the tree shelters them from the burning sun. Thanks for mentioning the moth, I had seen it in the evening and was wondering what it was. I plan to pot all the babies and keep those in soil until I find homes for them, through craigslist etc.

[@ernestallen5154]

Catalpa is very common in Ohio. There a two huge ones around the corner from me.. Probably around 40 feet tall. Beautiful when flowering.

[@melcarter6422]

My home came with this tree. It’s probably 50-75 feet tall. It’s in the northwest corner of my zone 5b front permaculture yard. It’s close to my already in place crabapple tree. It has large elephant sized leaves. The blossoms only last a few days, though smell amazing! I love it despite the “litter” it causes. My dad used to look for this tree for the bait. The dried pods are used in floral arrangements. Thanks for featuring this amazing tree!

[@cheskydivision]

My tree is huge unfortunately the branches fall easily in the wind. My flowers rarely last more then a day. But I love it.

[@sstringfellowc]

I live in Pennsylvania, zone 6. (Used to be zone 5b.) Our catalpa is 25 - 30 feet high, maybe more. It was there when we got there and it is beautiful. Another lovely aspect of the tree is its huge, handsized, heart-shaped leaves. And, yes, seedlings pop up all around it. Thanks for highlighting this gorgeous tree that does need some thought when integrating into the landscape. If a person does have one, what is a good guild for it? It produces a lot of shade but is very tall, so sunlight can get under it in the right location.

[@tgardenchicken1780]

If you have an arboretum nearby plan a few visits during different seasons to view the trees, see them as mature beauties (just remember they may 'seem' smaller there because there are no houses to give perspective in size as they are in the right place, so they fit in). Also, wander your neighborhood to see what trees are healthy. I love these trees, in addition to all the great points in the video the summer shade and winter sun that you can 'harvest' is great. Thanks for featuring one of my faves.

[@MonoiLuv]

Helpful info, thank you for posting

[@JensNyborg]

"The wood's unique properties make it excellent for carving and boat-building." (Wikipedia) Planting a tree to get wood makes it less of an issue how large it would get if you didn't fell or coppice it. (Not that I have any idea how Northern Catalpa reacts to coppicing. Or being felled for that matter, they don't all just keel over dead when felled.)

[@ParkrosePermaculture]

That is another good use for it I had not heard of. Thank you for sharing!

[@nmnate]

One of the popular shade trees in our area is a 'Chitalpa' which is a Catalpa crossed with a desert willow. I don't have space for the bigger trees (they're absolutely massive), so we stuck with the native desert willows (4) here for the ornamental value + pollinator benefits. We had to go with particularly hardy varieties to survive our low temperatures. The young trees still get a bit of dieback in the winter (especially with -2F last year), but I think it's worth it in the long run. They're very pretty trees with when they're in full bloom. Native plants like these should be cherished😁

[@terrym2210]

It’s is also easy to propagate cuttings from this tree. It’s fast growing to fill in a canopy where deforestation has happened on a larger property. Waiting for fir or cedar trees to regrow is a lifetime event in the Pacific Northwest. We have a lot of pollinators now.

[@flannelcommander]

We have one. It was planted over 50 years ago by my great grandfather. It’s about 70’+ provides a lot of shade in the summer but the flowers are a mess when they fall We give away the smaller trees that grow in our garden.

[@joelgz6564]

Here the leafs of Catalpa variety produce sticky gum or resin, and all things placed below it are stained 🤷‍♂️

[@tiki_t]

If any of your viewers need an alternative, check out the Chitalpa Morning Cloud. Leaves are narrower but it is drought resistant. Great for hotter climates.

[@troyh5955]

Hi Angela. Another good review. I’m in Australia and won’t be getting my hands on one; however how do the leaves go when dry as a mulch alternative/ brown material for compost?. Additionally does it fit into a nitrogen fixing capacity noting its flowers being similar to pea and bean, maybe a small pioneer species. Again one last question…could the bean shoots provide additional feed for animals( chickens/ goats or cows)?

[@janedickey6719]

It is a very interesting tree. BUT they will pop up everywhere. We took a diseased one out and now I have twenty small trees I cut down every year. One got away from me and I cannot kill it now. It is right next to the house. I cut it down. It comes back. Tried digging up the roots. It came back. It is a bane in my yard. Be careful planting it. Make sure you want it. Even drought won't kill it. LOL

[@zaviahopethomas-woundedsou9848]

You mentioned the moth it hoasts that is in the south. I would like to know if that moth is an issue in the PNW? Thanks.

[@sarahmihuc3993]

Figured I'd google this because it wasn't super clear in the video (sphinx moth is a family of moths, so I wasn't sure what kind it was), so here's the answer! It hosts the catalpa sphinx moth, which is found only in the eastern US as far west as the Mississippi area, though quite far north too (I'd guess into Canada). So, it shouldn't be a concern for PNW.

[@isabelwatson5067]

@@sarahmihuc3993 I'm in East Texas and we have the moths here. I have two catalpas in my yard and some years there are only a few caterpillars (everyone here calls them Catalpa worms) and other years they eat every single leaf on the tree. They are excellent bait though. I put them in a jar of cornmeal and freeze them.

[@justalurkr]

How bad is it for a tree that reaches 60' to get pruned back to 20' or 30'? Aside from the expense, is it straight up harmful to thwart a plant's full growth outside the art of bonsai?

[@permiebird937]

The technique you are talking about is either coppicing or pollarding. It's where a deciduous tree is cut back when dormant to regrow. This can be done for a variety of reasons including managing tree size. I have chestnut trees I coppice or pollard every few years. The trees could reach over 50 ft, but we keep them under 15ft.

[@justalurkr]

@@permiebird937 I've been researching pollarding for my mulberry that's feeding a lot more birds than people because it's so tall. So very many people (tree surgeons) on KZbin act like it's just the worst, most horrible thing you can do to a tree...even though it's been practiced as forest management for centuries in Europe. I'm still looking for a good resource on how to handle it.

[@irieknit]

The root system is a real issue to consider as it impacts buildings, driveways etc in city/town settings. If the tree is root-pruned badly then it could also die under stressors that it might otherwise have withstood and that's the last yield, possibly with destruction in its wake.

[@wesleyhamper8169]

Do you know of any books or websites that go into detail about the benefits/requirements of specific plants not typically discussed in permaculture?