Catalpa Help!

abisearlevRfWtuD9

Hi, I have 7 Catalpa Nana in my garden. Five are in one bed and are thriving, two are on the opposite side of the garden and have not done well this Summer (planted in Feb). The leaves went quite yellow and I think had chlorosis.

Pretty much everything in that bed has not done well this year. The hydrangeas went quite a lime green and grew straight up with less leaves than the ones in my other bed. It's heavy clay, so we dug loads of it out and replaced with manure and I used a seaweed based iron fertiliser over the last couple of weeks. My hydrangeas have turned a darker green but I think it was too late for the trees.

Is there anything I can do over the winter/spring to improve the soil ahead of the next growing season? Picture attached of a good one and a bad one!

CharlotteF

It sounds like you've done quite a lot to improve your soil, so I think I'd just wait and see. They are reasonable sized trees so they're not doing too badly for less than a year in position- generally the bigger the specimen the longer it takes to get established.

I haven't grown catalpa, so I'm no expert, but to me it sounds like you've done all the right things. 

Helios

Were those photos taken very recently? Our catalpa was grown in fairly poor soil however it was well drained and it did quite well there. As Charlotte says, it sounds like you’ve already done a lot to improve the soil so I’d wait and give it a chance. 

Our catalpa was an established tree but the newer leaves could often look yellowish  in spring and then at the beginning of autumn. 

abisearlevRfWtuD9

The photos are from today! Thanks both.

Helios

Ah! In that case, I agree with Charlotte - leave it and and see what happens. Good luck and keep us updated.