Catalpa ovata 'Slender Silhouette'

RHS Plant Profile
Chinese catalpa 'Slender Silhouette'

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Trees

A narrow, columnar, upright growing tree, with dense foliage and pale green, often three-lobed leaves, 25cm (10in) long. In summer it bears upright stalks of cream-white flowers with purple and orange markings followed by slender hanging pods. This cultivar is reportedly variable in habit.

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

4-8 metres

Max Spread

4-8 metres

Size

Time to Maturity
10–20 years
Max Spread
4-8 metres
Max Height
4-8 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Loam Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or East–facing or West–facing
Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

  • H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
  • H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
  • H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
  • H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
  • H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
  • H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
  • H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
  • H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
  • H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)
H6

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Bignoniaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
No
Foliage
Deciduous
Habit
Columnar upright
Genus
Catalpa are deciduous trees of spreading habit, with handsome, large leaves and erect panicles of showy, bell-shaped flowers in late summer, followed by persistent, slender bean-like seed capsules
Name Status
Unresolved

How to Grow

Cultivation

Grow in any reasonably fertile, moist but well-drained soil in full sun. Shelter from strong winds. Provide young plants with protection from frost in very cold weather

Propagation

Propagate by seed (tree/shrub) sown in a seedbed or containers in an open cold frame in autumn. Propagate by softwood cuttings in late spring or summer, or by root cuttings in winter.

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • Architectural
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Sub-tropical
  • Low Maintenance

Pruning

Pruning group 1, or pruning group 7 for pollarding

Pests

Generally pest-free

Diseases

May be susceptible to verticillium wilt and rarely, honey fungus