About
Catalpa ovata 'Slender Silhouette' is a tall, columnar tree that grows upright with a compact form. Its leaves are dense, pale green, and typically three-lobed, reaching lengths of up to 25 cm (10 in). During the summer months, this variety produces tall clusters of cream-white flowers featuring purple and orange markings, which are succeeded by slender, pendulous seed pods. Notably, this cultivar may exhibit variation in its growth habit.
About the genus
Catalpa are broad-spreading deciduous trees characterized by their large, attractive leaves and upright clusters of bell-shaped flowers that appear in late summer. After flowering, they produce elongated, slender seed pods that remain on the tree.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, East-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H6
Plant details
- Plant type
- Trees
- Habit
- Columnar upright
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 4-8 metres
- Spread
- 4-8 metres
- Time to full height
- 10-20 years
- Suggested uses
- Architectural, City and courtyard gardens, Cottage and informal garden, Sub-tropical
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow in any reasonably fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun. Shelter from strong winds. Provide young plants with protection from frost in very cold weather
- Pruning
- Pruning group 1, or pruning group 7 for pollarding
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed (tree/shrub) sown in a seedbed or containers in an open cold frame in autumn. Propagate by softwood cuttings in late spring or summer, or by root cuttings in winter.
- Pest resistance
- Generally pest-free
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to verticillium wilt and rarely, honey fungus