Northern Catalpa Seedling
Northern Catalpa Seedling
Species: Catalpa speciosa
History: Northern Catalpa is native to the midwestern US where it was cultivated starting in the 1750s due to its resistance to rotting. This made it useful as fence posts and, rather unsuccessfully, as railroad ties. This tree has since expanded far beyond its original range as a commonly planted ornamental tree.
Why We Grow It: Catalpas make lovely ornamental trees, featuring large, heart-shaped leaves and twisting trunks. To further the visual appeal, they bloom annually with large, white flowers which turn into dangling bean pods.
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Ornamental
Fruit Size: n/a
Storage: n/a
Harvest: N/A
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 4
Soil Preference: Tolerant of most soils and moisture levels
Flowering Time: Spring - Late
Bloom Colour: White
Pollination Requirements: Self-pollinating
Sun/Shade Requirements:
Partial to full sun (at least 4 hours of full sun daily)
General Growth Habits:
Moderate to fast growth rate, reach about 40-60ft at maturity. Mildew and Leaf Spot are not major issues but Catalpas can get Verticillium Rot. Takes seven years to flower. Flowers May to June. Inedible bean pods present from mid-summer to mid-winter.
Shipping vs. Pick Up
Shipping vs. Pick Up
CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.
Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.
Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.
Size at Purchase
Size at Purchase
Catalpa seedlings are divided into the following grades:
-1 year plant - 15-40cm
There is some overlap in size since we are also taking the age of the plants into account. Some older plants may not have put on quite as much vegetative growth but will have larger root systems.
All of these heights exclude the roots since seedlings and some berries will often have a lot of root growth but relatively little vegetative growth (ex. our Shagbark Hickories seedlings are often 5-15cm above the soil but will have roots that reach 20cm+ in length).
Not all of our berries and seedlings will be available in all of these grades since growth rate can vary significantly across species and even varieties. While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth, therefore you may find conventional nursery stock larger in some instances comparatively.
Why plant small? It's best to transplant when a plant is young so it can establish its roots before it has a lot of vegetative growth. This is much less stressful on it and bareroot plants tend to catch up and even surpass larger potted ones planted at the same time, after a few years.
Orders that are cancelled last minute due to size (being "too small"), will still incur the applicable cancellation fees if the plants are true to our grading standards as per the agreement of sale when the order was placed.