Japanese name: ハナキササゲ（花木豇豆） Scientific name:Catalpa speciosa
[Overview]
A deciduous tree 15–30 m tall.
The leaves are simple and opposite, ovate to broadly ovate, 20–30 cm long and 15–20 cm wide, with a heart-shaped base.
Panicles at the branch tips bear many flowers.
The flowers are tubular, 3–6 cm long, shallowly 5-lobed at the tip and two-lipped.
The flowers are white, with dark purple spots and yellow-orange streaks on the inside.
The fruit is a slender capsule 20–40 cm long and about 1 cm wide, hanging down.
The seeds are flat and oblong, with long dense hairs at both ends.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by cuttings.
It prefers a sunny, fertile place.
It dislikes places exposed to strong wind.
Cultivation is easy.
Fertilizer is not particularly necessary, but if applied, use fertilizer in winter, in January–February.
Prune in winter, but since flowers form on the tips of branches that grew the previous year, cutting back too hard will prevent flowering.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
