I don't actually have any problem with spraying the
tree but, I have several in my yard & after reading some online, I don't see it being beneficial to save the
trees. I am trying to clear my fence line of brush,
trees, vines, etc. (deciding on what to keep & what to get rid of). Here are some things I have found:
Catalpa grows 50 feet tall but can go to 90 feet. (making it somewhat hard to spray)
Potential Problems - Although Northern Catalpa can have several diseases and pests, most are usually minor and pose no serious threat to this relatively trouble-free
tree. The exception is the caterpillar of the Catalpa sphinx, which can on occasion defoliate the
tree. (When I found these
trees, they had no leaves, making me now believe they have been infested)
This is an article I found online...
The old
tree taught me many lessons in natural science. Up early on July and August mornings, I would find the cicada nymphs that had emerged from the loamy soil at the base of the
tree and climbed up to eclose (shed). There were many brownish colored shed skins still attached to the rough bark, but it was the greenish, still-living nymphs that I sought. They would find a spot that suited them, and then begin eclosing.
First, a split would appear in the nymph's back, then split wider as the nymph's ivory-green thorax began to emerge from the old exoskeleton. Once it had eclosed fully, the cicada would orient its body perpendicular to the trunk and begin to pump blood into its crumpled wings. The wings expanded downward, partly in response to gravity.
Sometime later the adult cicada, now much darker, produced a few raspy sounds, began to vibrate its thorax and thin, transparent wings, warming up for flight. It would then fly up into the catalpa or one of the nearby elms and emit a buzzing sound in an attempt to lure a mate.
The mated female selected the tender end of a limb, inserted her sawlike ovipositor into slits it cut into the twig's bark, and deposited her eggs. When the eggs hatched, the tiny nymphs dropped to the ground, unhurt, and burrowed into the soil There they found a suitable
tree root, inserted their mouth stylets, and fed on sap for the next 13 to 17 years (depending on the species).
The catalpa produced inches-tall racemes of pretty but unpleasantly scented
flowers that were followed by long, pealike fruits. In late summer, the
tree's leaves would suddenly disappear as ivory and black caterpillars with "horns" on their tails ate all except the leaf veins. Some folks gathered the caterpillars, tore them in half, turned the pieces inside out, and used them as fish bait.
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