Indian Bean Tree

Hello everyone!
Indian bean tree (Catalpa bignonioides).
Can the beans be used for anything other than just the decoration on the tree?

Kind regards
Roy

 

Hi Royster
I wouldn't recommend it, unless you really know what your doing! I've detailed some uses below, I know you're interested in the pods, but just bear in mind - The roots of Catalpa are extremely poisonous
The most useful part of Catalpa is the bark - used medicinally as an antiseptic, antidote to snake bites, laxative, sedative and for worms. Has also been used for malaria treatment. As well as having a sedative effect, the plant also has a mild narcotic action, & has been used for respitory illness. The leaves are used as a poultice on wounds. A tea made from the seeds is used in the treatment of asthma and bronchitis and is applied externally to wounds. The pods are sedative and are thought to have cardioactive properties. Distilled water made from the pods, mixed with other herbs has been used as eye lotion for of trachoma and conjunctivitis.
Hope this is helpful

 

Bayleaf, by eck! Thats one busy tree!!!
Next time I suffer from a snake bite I'll be sure to try my utmost to find a Catalpa, oh and the laxative benefits may well come in handy too

Many thanks for the info!

Kind regards
Roy

 

Roy have you looked inside the pods?
Its not what you expect to find, not a single bean.
Just some very small winged seeds, not sure but I dont think they ripen over here as the summers are not hot, or long enough.

 

Hi Guys

Do you have yours in pots or the ground????
Are you pleased with this tree, and would you recommend them??? My garden should be finished next week (fingers crossed!!!!), so I'm now getting ready to plant, plant, plant!!!! (I have a completely blank canvass to work with!!!!) We are looking for the WOW factor with as much interest all year as poss.

Thanks!!!!

Oh - where did you get yours from???

 

Everyone in Hemel has one, it seems! So they must be very easy to grow! :rolleyes: All the ones I came across were in the ground, didn't see any in pots.

All the best! (I've seen seeds for them - can you wait for years? :D

 

Hi Honey Bee & Dendrobium
Catalpa originates from the southern states of North America where it usually grows by water - so that gives us a clue to what conditions it likes, but they are reasonably tolerant but, I have one in a pot as my garden soil is like the Sahara :rolleyes: , so I have no choice - its a small cultivar & is only a baby still, but has been happy this summer. They do like a bit of shelter, especially when young.
If you grow from seed they do take some work - but good if you like a challenge... they aren't reliable, but you may get some germination - best sown outdoors, or in a cold frame, as soon as it is ripe. Stratify stored seed for 3 weeks at 1�°c (i.e. put in the freezer, or outside if cold enough)and sow in spring in free draining potting compost. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last frosts. Easier to take softwood cuttings, 10cm long, in late spring to early summer before the leaves are fully developed - grow on in a frame. You can take root cuttings in winter also in a frame - bit more difficult.
Hope this helps- sorry, am a bit trainspotterish around plants!

 

I grew mine from seed twenty years ago or so, its not a difficult plant, it does however need sun in order to ripen the wood. The top growth doesn't ripen in the UK so some die back does occur each year.
As bayleaf says keeping it frost free its first winter stops it getting cut back too hard to start with, after that there's no stopping it.
I've allowed mine to grow a trunk and then cut back each year to one bud all summer shoots in late October. It makes massive leaves and many shoots at least 6-8ft long.
I dont think the water thing is an issue in the UK, most parts are wet enough for it once established.
The one down side with growing it how I do is that you will never get any flowers, but unless you have lots of space,and dont have to cut it back hard each year, thats something you have to do without.

 

Hi Guys & Dendy!!!!

Thanks for this - and there's nothing wrong with being a bit anorak-ish, The more info, the better!!!! I'm not going to bother with raising one from seed - it'll be years before the space is filled, so will buy one ......

 

Yes Pete, not much going on inside the seed pod but as you say must be due to lack of heat.

Even though they seem to be ten-a-penny these days I really love the great big fresh light green leaves that they produce! And the leaves stay fresh throughout the whole of the growing season, unlike so many other trees. The seed pods just add that bit more attractiveness to this lovely plant!

Kind regards
Roy

 

Standard species is better IMO than the gold leafed one. The light that comes through the canpopy is golden enough anyway and adds a touch of exotica to a garden. Don't forget you can pollard them annually to get a domed bush of huge leaves the following year.

I have a use for the beans - well not me exactly. In my garden, early this summer, the last years pods were hanging black as a witches talons, as they take months to fall. Early one sunny morning I looked out the window and...it was snowing! Blimey I thought more evidence of global warming. I looked up into the Catalpa and there, silhouetted against the morning sky were about ten or more parrots, grabbing the pods with their claws, and slowly splitting them lengthways with their beaks. They were being sneaky I reckon as the parrots round here can normally be heard squawking like crazy long before they arrive. They were discarding the feathery seeds which were falling so fast they really did look like snow, and I suppose eating the meal out of the inside of the pods. They came back for about four or five more days, on time like clockwork, and then they stopped.

Before you all think I've been at the wacky-baccy check out this link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/3869815.stm

:D

 

Have heard about the wild parrots jasid, although I've not seen any round here, could be a good reason to grow a catalpa. :D :D

 

Ok Jazid, so you were not on the wacky backy but I reckon if I saw parrots in my garden then I would start to wonder about my own sanity - mainly cos I don't have a back garden, you see...
No, silliness aside, its an amazing thing this wild parrots living in London!

I once caught a parrot that was sitting munching in the middle of a wheat field just outside Edinburgh. However, turns out it was an escapee from - no not Alcatraz but a wee hoose nearby.

Kind regards
Roy

 

There are so many ring necked parakeets in the UK now that the RSPB includes them in their bird books. Unlike the collared doves they have been released here over the last twenty years or so and have built up colonies here and in other parts of Europe and seem to tolerate cold winters and breed successfully.They do tend to take over feeding areas and intimidate smaller native birds in some cases but most people welcome and encourage them. Whether this is a good thing I can't say.