what about some pix????

hard to confirm or deny a diagnosis.. on words alone ... especially some hippies words.. lol ... just kidding ...

might also help to know where you are ...

is this a new construction???

ken

A N catalpa I planted in ~1973 has lived w/the wilt since. Some branches die, but the tree survives & looks reasonable, if relatively stunted in size.

AFAIK, nothing can be done.

Pictures would help but often it is difficult to accurately diagnose VW without cutting into the wood or via a plant pathologist. Catalpas are rather prone to VW and if present, there is not much hope for the tree. However, VW doesn't spread like the flu so there is little chance other susceptible species will contract the disease unless the pathogen is transferred mechanically, like with infected pruners or other garden tools.

Keep your tools and pruners clean and disinfected and avoid any sort of mechanical injury to the other plants (including root disturbance) and try to ensure no other stressors are present like drought or poor drainage, etc. They should be fine.

Take samples into your local extension service for an accurate diagnosis as to the problem.

Is streaking in the dead wood and retention of dried foliage w/o fall color enough to make a 90% guess of to v-wilt?

FWIW one of my dogwoods showed similar symptoms but no streaking even if there was external stem discoloratuon, I eventually found borer holes though.

Sure would lean towards VW if those symptoms were present but one of the concerns of diagnosis is the variability of symptoms. Wilting of foliage is not necessarily entire - sometimes it is just a marginal scorching or necrosis. Sometimes it is a stem/branch at a time; others it is the entire tree or shrub virtually overnight. Streaking of the cambium or bark does not appear uniformly in all cases either nor does the vascular staining. And that can also be the symptom of other vascular issues not quite so dramatic and final as VW.

That's why it is best to ascertain exactly what the problem is before doing anything rash, like chopping things down :-)