Northern Catalpa – Catalpa speciosa

Nut Tree?

Not to be overly dramatic, but sometimes life truly surprises me. One tree on our property developed very large leaves and what looked like nuts of some sort. Now, having fruit and nut trees is exciting to me, so I’ve checked this tree frequently as the “nuts” developed. I don’t have nearly enough time to identify every plant or tree, so I figured if it’s a nut tree, the variety will be evident soon enough.

Orchidy Snow

Well, the inexperienced gardener strikes again. After a few days spent out of town, I wandered around the gardens trying to catch up on the current state of bloom. As I approached the tree, I noticed white blossoms on the ground here and there. I couldn’t imagine what they were. I was within a few yards of the tree when I noticed a large “strike zone” littered with white flowers. Only then did I look up and see the tree covered in beautiful white orchid-like (to me, anyway) flowers!

Nothern Catalpa

So no, Stacey, this is this NOT a nut tree. It’s a Northern Catalpa tree, Ctalpa speciosa (Warder) Warder ex Englm. It’s a member of the Trumpet-creeper Family, which can explain it’s tendency to become invasive. This particular tree already has a young offspring near it that’s nearly 6-feet tall.

I can’t find too many problems with the tree, so we’ll ensure we keep any seedlings pulled, and hopefully we can enjoy many years with this beautiful shade tree.

*** This site is comprised solely of the opinions of its author, Stacey Morgan Smith. She works to promote gardening and tourism in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, from Roanoke to the Potomac River.***