Description
The poplars are a diverse family of plants which include the willows. They are great early pioneer species and fairly easy to propagate. We offer a variety of poplars:
Cottonwood – Populus deltoides – Early pioneer can grow in almost no soil
The Cottonwood is a giant! Beautiful and powerful.
There is a bridge near me that was shut down a few years ago, and since then a few years of leaf litter has been deposited on the bridge, creating maybe an inch or two of soil. What trees are growing on the bridge now? Cottonwoods! Turning a bridge back into an ecosystem.
This trees is common in wet areas as well as areas with very low top soil, like eroded farm fields, old parking lots, or old building sites.
While they won’t reach full size in the extremely marginal areas, given some wetter soil to grow in these will become some of the largest trees we have in the East.
The leaves shimmer and sparkle in the slightest wind.
Hardwood cuttings can simply be stuck in the ground in spring.
Growth Parameters: expect an extremely large tree at maturity which drops a lot of organic matter throughout the year including branches and bud scales. Can do very well in close proximity to water. Expect fast growth. Can develop a very wide profile but generally are more upright trees.
Balsam Poplar – Populus balsamifera – Super hardy poplar
Super cold hardy tree! Here in zone 5, outside Utica, NY, we are actually at the southern end of its range! We just happen to have one tree at Old Path Farm that we have started to propagate from, however it is in decline due to pressure from black walnut.
The leaves on these poplars are a deep glossy green. It has a number of different herbal indications depending on the parts used.
This is a fast growing pioneer species. As with all the poplars, it is a great choice to get fast tree coverage in marginal areas. The balsam poplar would certainly add diversity to a poplar-based silvopasture area, however it can’t be planted too far south.
Hardwood cuttings can simply be stuck in the ground in spring. I’ve had great results by wounding the bottom of the cutting and stimulating it with bottom heat before putting it in the nursery bed.
Growth Parameters: Expect fast growth. Fairly upright, large tree.
OP-367 Hybrid Poplar:
This is a time tested hybrid poplar. It puts on exceptionally fast growth, expect “firewood caliper logs in five years”. This poplar is highly amenable to coppicing (cutting flush to ground). Can be used to make fast wind breaks and visual privacy screens. This is considered a fully male tree, so no worry about spreading by seed (if these are your only poplars).
Growth Parameters: if grown to maturity, expect the tree to be 40 feet wide. Upwards growth will be measured in feet each year (these can potentially be 40 feet tall in four to five years!).
Dance Hybrid Poplar:
This is a pretty chance seedling that has popped up and spread in some of my nursery beds. It seems to be a hybrid between cottonwood and quaking aspen. Pretty, rich colored foliage with strong growth but nothing crazy (like the OP-367). Perfect if youre looking to deepen your genetic pool with unique genes.
Growth Parameters: expect something in-between the singularity of a cottonwood and the spreading nature of quaking aspen. Mature form unknown!
Quaking Aspen – Populus tremuloides
Coming soon in 2025!
