Umbrella Catalpa

Catalpa bignonioides 'Nana'

Leaves: Deciduous. Heart-shaped leaves vary from 4 to 8 inches long, 3 to 8 inches wide, and have a smooth leaf edge. Medium to dark green leaf color. Fall color is insignificant. Leaves sometimes drop while still green. Strong odor when crushed.

Bark/Twigs: Fissured, grayish-brown bark with furrows, sometimes thick and with red-brown scales. Bark is easily damaged and thin when young.

Flowers/Fruit: Rarely flowers. Rarely produces fruits.

Mature size and shape: Small. 15 to 20 feet high x 15 to 20 feet wide. Dwarf, bushy variety with a rounded, uniform, and dense crown that is umbrella or mushroom shaped.

General information/special features: Plant in full sun. Moist, rich soil is preferable. A grafted dwarf cultivar of the Southern catalpa that looks like a large mushroom, globe, or umbrella.

Landscape use and maintenance: Stands out as a beautiful specimen tree with a unique form.  Slow to medium growing rate. Average maintenance. Can be planted near power lines. Weak wooded. Normally grafted at 4 to 5 feet above ground.

USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 to 8

Family/Origin: Bignoniaceae – Catalpa. Of French origin. A grafted dwarf cultivar of the Southern catalpa that looks like a large mushroom, globe, or umbrella.

Campus Use: Rare. Large specimen can be found south of Social and Behavioral Science (Bld 25). Only other specimen is on the northwest corner of Gardner Hall (Bld 3).