I love the Catalpa trees....Aren't they nice?!

I've found seedlings beneath the trees before and I know seeds are ripe in like Nov-Dec. Soooo I'm assuming them fall fresh from the tree in early winter and germinate in spring. Therefore you might might do a moist/cold stratify in the fridge for a few weeks prior to booting them out or just try sticking them out now OR both LOL!
We have the Northern Catalpa (C. speciosa) up this way which I'll take a guess is probably what you have. They can have the tendency of becoming weedy. Catalpa bignonioides is the less hardy one to zone 5 but pretty sensitive.

Vera

My neighbor has them too and I am constantly pulling out the seedlings in my yard not to mention cleaning up the pods that are all over my side yard and driveway. They probably will work.

Penny

They sure can! i did this last year. and great germination too!

I hope the seeds are viable for a while cuz I've got some saved from the tree behind our apartment building. We'll probably be here for at least two more years.

I have a Catalpa tree in the backyard and I find seedlings everywhere in the spring. I also have thousands of catalpa worms every summer. It's gross! The tree is coming down. I'll miss it because it is beautiful and provides some nice shade but I can't even let the kids play on the deck because of all the frass raining down. I hose the deck off 3 or more times a day and it doesn't help.
Karyn

I also have Catalpa tree's. I wish I could send them to you. The flowers a beautiful, they look a lot like an orchid. But in the begining of June the worms appear, eat all the leaves, so we lose all the shade, I have lots of what I think is worm dunge to clean up, then the bright green worms fall to the ground and repeat the cycle the next year. I've also had them return in July to finish off any leaves that may have grown. If this is not the same Catalpa tree, please disregard this post. They say the worms are good for are fishing. But my husband has yet to catch a fish. My trees are also 80 - 100 ft in the air, so they have been around a while. Jennie

The northern catalpas here in NY aren't plagued with those catalpa worms on the southern catalpa trees.

Penny

Thanks for the help - I'll give them a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I just love their trusses of flowers in the summer - they remind me of foxgloves. I know their seed pods can make a mess.

I've never seen worms on our catalpa trees. I don't want to plant it close to a house, though - the falling seed pods can be a nuisance. They make a great specimen tree, viewed from a bit of a distance. I'd love to grow the golden-leaved form I've read of in books, but I've never seen one up here.

Laurel

Jennie I get two generations of worms too. It's amazing that the tree can be completely defoliated twice but it still comes back the following spring. It took about 5 years for the first Catalpa infestation and I had no idea what they were. When I finally ID'd them all I found online was info about what great fishing bait they were. I let all my friends who like to fish collect all they can but it doesn't even make a dent in the numbers. These pics were taken of the same part of canopy less than a week apart.
Karyn

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I had good results wintersowing them, too.

I only saw the catalpa worms one year (the first summer after we moved into our old house), there were only a few, maybe they didn't get a chance to reproduce that year?

They are beautiful trees, and grow quickly. The one we had was completely covered in clusters of blooms every spring. White, with a touch of purple and yellow in the throats.

I have one in my yard I wish I could ship you. I haven't noticed worms, but when in bloom, ants abound! I would not recommend putting one next to a foundation. Liz

Karyn, I called the county exstention office here and they told me the only way to slow them down was to spray BT on the tree in May (You can imagine trying to spray a 100ft tree from the ground, not happening, and we have 3 of them), or shake the tree and when they fall, and kill them. The tree shaking is what we usualy do. What gets me is that you can leave for work and have foilage,then come home and over half will be gone.

I winter-sowed some catalpa seeds last year and they were six inches high by the fall. I planted them, pot and all, into a holding bed and am hoping they survived the winter. They're zone 4 and we did have a harsh winter (part of it, anyway), so who knows. I still have some seed, so if they haven't survived, i'll try again.

BMG that was pretty much what was told to me. My tree is only half the size of yours and I couldn't imagine trying to spray it. Besides that I have a big butterfly garden not far from the catalpa and I would be scared that the Bt would get everywhere. The only place that I do use Bt is in my bog/water gardens that are too shallow for for fish. I could deal with the shade disappearing but I can't handle all the frass (caterpillar poop) that lands on my deck and the kids playground equipment. I just have to hire someone to remove the tree and that's not going to be cheap : (
Karyn

10 years ago I had 2 trees in the back yard. I loved the color and the worms. My husband and I fished with them. They did not cause a problem in the yard as they were away from the house. Several years ago one of them died. I have not had worms since. Can anyone tell me why and how I can get them back. Before I would get maybe 3 generations a season. The tree looks healthy with lots of cigars, but no worms. Do they need to be in pairs?

Novice, I don't think they have to have 2 trees. The worms come from a moth that lays eggs on the leaves and then they just eat there way to the bottom leaves on the tree. I did notice this year that we don't seem to have as many worms. I think the frost we had at Easter this year has caused a lot of things to show up later,or be different. If you had the frost also that could be way. I wish I could send you a bucket full.
Jennie

I'm so excited that I didn't have any worms this year. We were all ready to have the tree taken down. I would have hated to do it but it's too close to the deck and I was soooo sick of caterpillar poo! The tree is absolutely beautiful this year. I had loads of blooms and now have lots of seed pods and the canopy is huge and provides a good deal of shade. There's still a chance that we cold get an infestation this season but I'm hoping that doesn't happen. I guess it's either a normal cycle or the strange temps this winter caused the pupa that were in the soil to die. I hope we don't have any next year either. I love to fish and can't stand the Catalpa worms but I could never put a hook through one of them. I have enough problems with an earthworm. lol
Karyn

Thanks for the info Jennie. I wish you could send me a bucket full also. LOL. Karyn, I love the tree even without the worms, but would rather have them and I can't stand to put a hook in them either. My husband has no problem doing it for me. I like that.