FREE: Catalpa Tree: Catalpa speciosa

The listing, Catalpa Tree: Catalpa speciosa has ended.

100 seeds. Easy directions included.

Wonderful blossoms! The heart shaped leaves are absolutely gorgeous and the larger trees provide a thick layer of shade to guard against the summer rays.

Photos: young tree, large tree, fully mature tree, blossom, blossom close-up-1, blossom close-up-2, leaf close-up, leaf & pod, trunk untended (natural), trunk on pruned tree.

The Catalpa is a medium to large-sized, easy & rapid-growth, deciduous tree, un-pruned growing to 50 - 100 feet tall and 239 feet wide crown. It has a trunk up to 3 - 5 ft. diameter, with brown to gray bark maturing into hard plates or ridges.

The leaves are large and heart shaped.

The flowers are 2-3 inches across, trumpet shaped, white with yellow stripes and purple spots inside.

The seed pods are long, thin and bean-like. and often stay attached to tree during winter. They contains many flat, light brown seeds with two papery wings.

Widely planted as an ornamental tree. Prefers moist, high pH soil and full sun, but has been able to grow almost anywhere in North America.

The wood is soft, like white pine, and light (26 pounds per cubic foot when dry). Catalpa has one of the lowest shrinkage/expansion rates of any U.S. hardwood. Only northern white cedar and redwood have lower shrinkage/expansion rates.

Catalpa has been extensively cultivated in Ohio for over 200 years, introduced to produce large amounts of timber for fence-posts.. Modern uses highlighting the wood's beautiful grain include furniture, interior trim and cabinetry. The wood's unique properties also make it excellent for carving and boat building.

http://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguideTreeDetail.cfm?ID=130

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CASP8

Will only ship to Listia-verified address: http://www.listia.com/account/addresses

If Listia-verified address not provided within 7 days of win, your credits are forfeit and I will re-list.

I mail-out: January 25, 2013

Happy Bidding !!!