A series of Catalpa's in bloom

These trees are a bit of a mess with their long seed pods but they are still wonderful in bloom
and have a pretty sweeping branching form.

And another

A close up of the lovely bloom (its fragrant too. The property smells wonderful right now)

Closer

And right into the pretty blossoms.

Looks like southern catalpa (C. bignonioides) -- is it?
Guy S.

I don't know for sure Guy. I googled them and after a brief review, I can't tell.
Any specific distinguishing characteristics to check for? The google seach sent
me to a site that said "speciosa has slightly larger leaves". Hmpf. Not very
useful.
Tam

My grandfather and father grew them for the caterpillars they attract (used for fishing bait).

My mom got all creeped out about the catalpas cause someone told her about the
"worms" that would be dripping off them. I've not seen any so far (8 yrs on this property
which has quite a few).

Tam

There are some minor morphological differences in the leaves and flowers. But probably the easiest way to tell them apart can be done from your car window at highway speed. Southern catalpa blooms about two weeks later than northern. Where they both are growing together, look for two distinct blooming periods. You also can make a pretty good guess from the form and size of mature trees. Northern is much more erect and grows twice as large. And when there are fruits present, the pods of northern are twice as fat as those of southern.
Guy S.

Well - they are huge. The pods exceed 12". And they just started blooming about a week ago
and are peaking now.

Tam

Sorry Tammy, I should have been more specific. Your trees don't look more than about 40 feet tall, if that. Northern catalpa can be more than twice that tall, and usually is much more erect (two or three times taller than broad). Both species have long fruits, but those of northern catalpa are wider (1/2 inch plus). And in your zone, northern catalpa should have finished blooming several weeks ago.

Of course, there are other (non-native) catalpa species too, but it's much less likely that you would have one of them.

Catalpa worms are sphinx moth larvae (Google for Ceratomia catalpae) that can defoliate the trees badly. They are easy to control with a Bt spray if they ever find your trees, and they're no worse to deal with than the pests that attack other trees. What "creeps ME out" is to see some nimrods place more value on the worms for fishbait than on the health of their beautiful trees! But hey, I'm a tree guy, not a fisherman.

Guy S.

I have noticed a lot of people around here cut their catalpas back. I have never figured out why. Could it be for easier access to the caterpillars? It sure looks stupid, whatever they are doing.

Then mine are southern catalpas! The seed pods are not 1/2" wide.

I've seen folks cut them back to keep them small & enjoy the big leaves.
I like the shape of the tall trees sending their swooping branches almost
to the ground.

Tam