Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Theo's Catalpa seeds arrived

Theo,

Yankee catalpa seeds arrived in good shape today. Now, with Nature's help and if I don't mess it up, some young Yankee trees will be sprouting in East Texas next spring. Thank you Theo and I don't care what they say about you, you are a generous person...

ML,

Caution on those seeds. I heard they are hybrid willows and will revert back to the parent stock. They're gonna make some good cormorant nesting sites!

I usually don't care about what they say about me either

Meadowlark, is this Catalpa tree the same as we have in East Texas? There used to be several large trees around my grandfather's place, which I still own. The big ones are all gone but we still have some. I have a few that I'm nurturing along. I remember men coming out there to get the worms to fish with.

Jim,

According to Theo, our resident expert, no this is a "Yankee" strain of the Catalpa tree. I'm skeptical that it will work in the East Texas climate, but maybe it will...its good to hear that you have them Jim. Indicates to me that if I can get the right variety, they will take hold. The bait is just excellent, especially for kids learning to fish and that's the intended use.

like this 46-year old kid.

It said the southern is the worm tree.
http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Different-Catalpas...oQQcmdZViewItem

If anybody wants some NE catapla seed pods let me know, I'll be down around there this weekend. BTW, you wouldn't believe the number of catipilar droppings that have been under this catapla tree in the last couple of weeks.

My Uncles farm in Twiggs County Ga where I learned to fish had a Catalpa tree. I remember Uncle Charlie would freeze the worms in water in a Dixie cup about ten to a cup. You could fish all day with red wigglers with no luck but it seemed like the Catalpas would get them every time.
Down side, ugly tree IMO

Bill,that's interesting about the freezing in water. I have a friend who gets all the Catalpa worms he can and freezes them and uses them when he goes on a fishing trip. By the way, my great grandfather came to Texas from Meriwether County, GA. Where is Twiggs County relative to Meriwether County?

Magic fishing worms and you can smoke the seeds also, just what I need. I've never been known as a eggspert fisherman.

Hey Shorty if its not to much trouble I would like some seeds.

Thanks
Darin

Twiggs is just outside Macon

Send me a PM with your address, I'll be down again there again this weekend and will pick up some seed pods to send out.

Just remembering back to the old Botany days, but you might have a problem getting that tree to actually bloom down in Texas. If it's truly a northern variety, it's gonna need some cold weather in order to "reset" it's clock. Without a cold, dormant period, it may not be able to time it's growth like it would in a colder climate.

This may not be an issue, but it's the same reason far southern regions have problems with fruit trees. Down south, it really never gets cold enough for the tree to go truly "dormant". They just continue to grow very slowly, and can't figure out when to drop their leaves, etc.

Just a thought...may not figure into this at all.

Matt,

I suspect you are exactly right...but heck it's worth a try anyway. I did place the seeds in the refridge until spring.

I don't think blooming is a requirement for Catalpa worms.

IF the seeds germinate and IF the northen catalpa will grow in East TX and IF some Catalpa Sphinx moths show up and lay eggs, everything will be OK. It's practically a given.

Good luck ML. Let us know how the trees do...can't beat them catalpa worms. When they are present, they're about the best pond CC bait there ever was.

Unfortunately for me, we haven't had any worms for 2 years in a row. 2003, plenty of them, and we used the heck out of 'em. None since...not sure why.

Matt,

Global warming!

Did you see the questions I asked about your crappie pond in the Georgia Giant vs crappie thread? I'm wondering what you did to have a successful crappie fishery in .75 acres. I'm building more ponds and would consider one devoted to crappie fishing.