Ten-inch woody twig lifted and placed in pot until I know if it's a tree or shrub, too large, too thirsty, etc. It has grown rather nicely (@20" inches tall). Looks familiar, but am new to snow gardens and cannot name it. Will attempt to attach 3 photos showing: growth on bare twig since late April; underside of large leaf; texture of woody twig with sprouting growth.
Looks like a Catalpa bignonioides. Common name Indian Bean tree. http://images.google.com/images?q=C...1I7SUNA_en-GB&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Catalpa
If you both think it is Catalpa, then it must be. Online, close-in photos of leaves support your ID. Read where Victorians sheared it to remain bush-like. That will be my plan of action. Again, this is THE BEST website for plant info. Thank you!
You wouldn't shear it but you might stool or coppice it, to produce and maintain a specimen that looks like a sunflower plant. You won't see any flowers that way, these are much of the point in planting this particular tree. Otherwise you might grow sunflowers instead! The dwarf cultivar 'Nana' has also been used as a pollarded specimen. Although since the tree naturally grows as a compact mushroom (when grafted onto a single stem) this kind of seems like overkill.
Jeepers, I have searched the web further for positive statements about this tree, and for how it might be used in my little landscape. You're correct about the flowers being the reason to plant it. For my needs, it seems a tosser (roots, bean-mess, size). Too bad.
