I got some catalpa seeds from my BIL's vineyard. The trees there are decades old, but exactly how old is unknown. The vineyard site is more than a hundred years old, but has not been in continuous use as a vineyard for the whole time , or even most of that time . (Prohibition, anyone?) I was a little surprised to see catalpas this far north (Hudson Valley) but this variety does seem to manage. I left the seed pods in the garage over the winter and then started them in a pot. The variety I'm acquainted with was quick growing and huge leaved. The leaves were late to sprout in the spring and withered at the first hint of cold. The parent trees to these sprouts seem to have these characteristics as well, although the seed pods were narrower and thicker than I remember from my childhood. Unlike the dwarf asiatics, these Tango lilies (asiatic hybrids) are not quite so far along, and are quite a bit larger plants, although the flowers are pretty much the same size. And, last but not least, we have the beginnings of a pot of scarlet verbena. I have a hanging pot that got quite carried away last summer, until neglect from being gone several weeks did it in. Maybe this summer will be better.