catalpa tree worth saving?

Joey Meister

this was a nice tree till about a week ago when high winds broke off two side branches, then today another storm broke off two more, is this tree worth trying to save, and how come the branches are breaking so easily?

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sueann

The winds play havoc with my tamarillo trees and I was wondering if it's something to do with the broad leaves? They just don't handle it as well as other trees, my tamarillo's look shredded after a high wind but smaller leafed trees look just fine.

Brent Ferris

Catalpas tend to be brittle trees, and Sueanne has a point that bigger leaves gather more wind, and trees with bigger leaves tend to suffer more damage.

Is the tree is a windy area, or do winds tend to funnel towards the tree? If so, a windbreak, or wind diversion may help until the tree is sturdy enough to withstand stronger winds.

Joey Meister

just found this post and thought i would do an update, i staked the tree last summer to hold up what was left of the branches, this year it has become a beautiful tree, i just had to trim it cause branches were too close to the ground, it seems really happy this year and so far the high winds have not hurt the new growth

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Joey Meister

so here I am a year later, I am wondering if I should let this tree grow, or if it will be unsafe once it gets larger, the leader grew crooked , to the tree produced a new shoot that grew straight up off the crooked leader, will this be a safe joint in future years? this was a nice tree it's first few years, but since the storm damage and then the bent leader i am not sure if it is worth keeping around.

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Eric Frei

What is that tree (species)?

And what is that box on it?

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Joey Meister

it is a Catalpa speciosa, the box is a bird feeder

Brent Ferris

Pretty big bird feeder for such a small tree. How is it attached? But generally the tree looks ok, let it grow. If you are really worried about a bent tip, you could cut it off, but then there will be a lot of suckering. Let the tree do its thing.

After all, what if people had made that kind of judgment call about kids under 10 - a lot of us have ears sticking out, long necks, big feet - most of turn out ok. LEt the tree be, that's my vote.

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Joey Meister

Thanks Brent, I didn't really want to get rid of it, I grew it from a seeding that a neighbor removed from their garden, even at this size it provides nice shade, and I can not wait for the flowers in future years. the bird feeder is loosely screwed in with one small screw and will be removed when the tree starts it's spring growth.