Common Catalpa

Catalpa bignonioides

Walter Species

Catalpa bignonioides
Nathan May via iNaturalist — CC BY 4.0
Catalpa bignonioides photograph 1 Catalpa bignonioides photograph 2 Catalpa bignonioides photograph 3 Catalpa bignonioides photograph 4 Catalpa bignonioides photograph 5 Catalpa bignonioides photograph 6
Botanical name
Catalpa bignonioides
Also known as
American Catalpa, Catawba, Cigar Tree, Cigartree, Common Catalpa, Indian Bean Tree, Indian Bean-Tree, Indian-Bean, Indian-Bean-Tree, Smoking-Bean, Southern Catalpa
Family
Bignoniaceae
Genus
Catalpa
Flowering period
July to August
Height
8–12 m
Spread
8–12 m
Hardiness
Hardy (RHS H5)
Reference
World Flora Online

How to grow Common Catalpa

Written by the GardenDecoded editorial team Last reviewed 21 July 2026 Written for UK gardens How we research our guidance

Sunlight
Full sun
Watering
Moderate; keep young trees watered in dry spells
Soil
Deep, fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained
Soil pH
Acid, neutral or alkaline

Planting

Plant in spring in a warm, sheltered position. The very large leaves tear in wind, so avoid exposed sites, and give it space — the crown spreads as wide as the tree is tall. It comes into leaf late, often not until late May.

Pruning

Little needed as a specimen. It can be stooled hard each spring to produce a shrubby plant with outsized leaves, though this sacrifices all flowering.

Propagation

Softwood cuttings in early summer with bottom heat, or seed sown under glass in spring.

Pests and diseases

Verticillium wilt can cause branch dieback. Otherwise generally healthy in UK gardens.

Value to wildlife

Bees visit the flowers, but the tree is not native and has limited value for UK invertebrates.

Notes

Flowers only on reasonably mature trees and needs a warm summer for a good display, so it is not a quick result. The long bean-like seed pods that follow persist into winter.

Some structured details on this page (such as tolerances, pH and hardiness) come from USDA PLANTS Database (public domain). The written guidance is GardenDecoded's own, researched as described in our editorial policy.

Other names for this plant

These names have all been used for Catalpa bignonioides but are no longer the accepted name. You may still meet them on old labels, in books, or in nursery catalogues.

Bignonia catalpa Bignonia spectabilis Bignonia triloba Catalpa arborea Catalpa bignonioides f. aurea Catalpa bignonioides f. aurea Catalpa bignonioides f. koehnei Catalpa bignonioides f. koehnei Catalpa bignonioides f. nana Catalpa bignonioides f. nana Catalpa bignonioides f. pulverulenta Catalpa bignonioides f. pulverulenta Catalpa bignonioides f. rehderi Catalpa bignonioides f. variegata Catalpa bignonioides f. variegata Catalpa bignonioides var. aurea Catalpa bignonioides var. nana Catalpa bignonioides var. pulverulenta Catalpa bignonioides var. variegata Catalpa catalpa Catalpa communis Catalpa cordifolia Catalpa pumila Catalpa speciosa f. albovariegata Catalpa speciosa f. pulverulenta Catalpa speciosa var. albovariegata Catalpa speciosa var. pulverulenta Catalpa syringifolia Catalpa syringifolia var. aurea Catalpa syringifolia var. koehnei Catalpa syringifolia var. nana Catalpa syringifolia var. pulverulenta Catalpa ternifolia Catalpa tibetica Catalpa umbraculifera Catalpium amena

Others in Catalpa

Catalpa × erubescens
Catalpa brevipes
Catalpa bungei
Catalpa longissima
French-Oak
Catalpa macrocarpa
Catalpa ovata
Chinese Catalpa
Catalpa purpurea
Catalpa speciosa
Northern Catalpa

GardenDecoded is an educational gardening reference. Botanical data comes from World Flora Online and GBIF; growing guidance is our own. Always check a plant's toxicity and local invasiveness status before planting, and never eat or apply a plant based on this site alone.