Is my Catalpa too close to foundation?

[suaf]

I purchased a Catalpa tree to place on the south side of our house where the sun heats the house very quicly in Summer. I thought this would be a good tree because of its rapid growth. There are 2 things that concern me though....

1) The tree is planted 7 1/2 feet from the foundation. As the tree root system expands, am I inviting problems? I can't move the tree further over because it is at the edge of my propoerty line.

2) The branches will eventually grow over my garage which is about 15 feet high. I know this tree has large fruit (seed pods). Will these create chaos on my gutters. I figure any tree that grows over the house will make a mess if it is deciduous but don't know again if this will be more trouble than its worth??

Thanks so much in advance for your responses!

 

[Elmore]

It's Waaaay too close. It should probably be about 50' out from the house.

 

[treeseer]

catalpa bignonoides? you'll need to prune it away from the house. As far as the foundation goes, hard to say; depends on soil type etc. If your yard is only 7.5 ft wide you have few good options.

 

[suaf]

yes, that is the correct species (I believe)...otherwise known as Northern catalpa. I am in northern IL and that is wht they refer to them as. I am strongly conisidering pulling the tree out as it is amll right now and won't be terribly difficult. I may just have to accept not being able to put a tree there as any tree species will have a root system that will grow against the foundation, which makes me nervous.

 

[Sheshovel]

Yes that is too close to the house and the leaf fall and seed pods will create clogged gutters.Mabey try a dwarf weeping tree in that area?

 

[Kate Butler]

catalpa

I purchased a Catalpa tree to place on the south side of our house where the sun heats the house very quicly in Summer. I thought this would be a good tree because of its rapid growth. There are 2 things that concern me though....

1) The tree is planted 7 1/2 feet from the foundation. As the tree root system expands, am I inviting problems? I can't move the tree further over because it is at the edge of my propoerty line.

2) The branches will eventually grow over my garage which is about 15 feet high. I know this tree has large fruit (seed pods). Will these create chaos on my gutters. I figure any tree that grows over the house will make a mess if it is deciduous but don't know again if this will be more trouble than its worth??

Thanks so much in advance for your responses!

Yes yes, and yes! Why did you choose that particular tree? How does your neighbor feel about this sort of tree overhanging his/her property?

 

[Elmore]

Large Catalpa

Here is a big Catalpa at Linn Park in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. It looks to be 60' tall if an inch. Quite an impressive Catalpa if I do say so but too large for many to plant on a small lot.

 

[treeseer]

Good picture. If you want a heart-shaped leaf, why not try a redbud? Most of them would fit 7 ft from house. There is also a smaller catalpa; gets purplish leaves early, but not hardy in IL.

Re litter, don't most folks have gutter guards where you are?

 

[trees4est]

Sounds like you're talking about Catalpa speciosa, northern catalpa, that generally grows taller and larger, southern is bignonioides. They seem to be a little more open in form and smaller. With the distance from the house it might take a long time to damage the foundation with pressure, but like treeseer says the soil is important, sometimes you can have more trouble with soil subsidence and expansion as moisture levels fluctuate.
I think they are gorgeous trees, but they are "messy".

 

[Tree Wizard]

In Suaf's original post it was stated, "I purchased a Catalpa tree to place on the south side of our house where the sun heats the house very quickly in Summer." So to me, that leaves out red bud and small weeping trees.

Speaking from experience with Catalpa spesiosas - I have 6 in my front yard. My house is about 55 years old and I would guess the trees were planted when the house was built. Two of the catalpas are within 15' of the foundation and there is no evidence of problems. The biggest problem I have with them are the seed pods which tend to fall over an extended period of time. The leaves tend to fall all at once from all 6 trees. You get up one morning and the lawn is covered with 2 inches of catalpa leaves and there are maybe a dozen leaves left on the trees.

The smaller Catalpa bignonoides also grows well in southeast Wisconsin. My experience with them is that they tend to be wider and shorter than speciosa.

 

[treeseer]

Great info on the catalpa, but 15' is a lot farther than 7.5'. Still I wouldn't rule it out totally.

Redbuds are not all small weeping trees; some get well over 20', tho I agree with you that a taller tree should be found to fit the purpose.

 

[suaf]

Thanks for all the info. It is indeed a Northen Catalpa. A 20' redbud would be way too small. The top of the house is probably around 25' so I was hoping for a tree that gorws taller to block some of the summer direct sun. The messy pods was also a concerna nd unfortunately I know of no wildlife that enjoys feeing on them (not even squirrels and chipmunks??) My neighbors roof won't have pods on it until I'm an old man probably. Their yard will start to have them soon. but they have a landscape service and I assume they either rake or just mow and mulch the pods. So I don't think that should be a concern. My gutters will also get the pods in the, but I already get them filled with Silver Maple seeds which I have to clean out so I don't see it being a big deal. Our soil is heavy clay. I like the trees because most of the ones I see around here do not have a huge canopy like some of the other oaks, maples etc. So hopefully it wouldn't even reach too much over the neighbor's house which is probably 20-25ft from base of the tree. I'm still most concerned about my foundation. Please keep opinions coming as I think aboutremoving the tree daily before it gets any bigger, but don't have a species to replace it with.