Plant of the Day
Thursday 25 July 2019
This year the Catalpa trees have been covered in flowers and at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden Wisley, UK, the specimen of Catalpa bignonioides (Indian bean tree, catawba) planted in the 1950s is now a magnificent tree, as the plant has aged the branches have lowered and some are now touching the ground. Nearby the golden foliage form, Catalpa bignonioides 'Aurea' (golden Indian bean tree), was flowering and this cultivar is often ‘stooled’ (cut back in winter) to encourage more dramatic, larger foliage. The Catalpa × erubescens 'Purpurea' (purple hybrid catalpa, purple Indian bean tree) was producing new shoots with blackish-purple leaves that later turn dark green, the foliage contrasts with the flowers.
Jill Raggett
