hybrid poplar

[carynsw]

my brother in law was recently given a 3' potted hybrid poplar. he has a newly built house in a rural area that looks to be a booming area. he currently has a house on only one side of his house, but that will undoubtedly change soon. he is wondering where this tree might most successfully be planted, and was informed that it is a VERY rapidly growing tree. he doesn't know how wide the tree and it's root system will grow, and is concerned about getting it too close to his house. also, he wants to know what time of year is the best to transplant it from the pot to the ground. cold weather is upon us, and frosts have already occurred. if this is the wrong time to plant, where should he keep it during the winter months? any reply would be appreciated. thank you.

 

[John Paul McMillin]

Personally I would never plant a poplar on my property. They are very short lived (20 years) and very prone to disease. Alot of the ones i see around here, put out tons of root sprouts that you cant even keep up with pruning them all out. Sorry for this info , but i would choose another type of tree for that location. Ash trees or Pines are fast growers also but much nicer trees. John

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

There are a number of hybrid poplars out there that were developed for fast growth for pulp and OSB industries. Soemreport an 8 year cash crop!

On thing that can be done with them is regular coppicing or cutting to the base so that they sprout back up. As JPM implies, one can have a grove of poplars in a few short years with all the root sprouts that come up.

Location of planting should be in a back courner that will not be maintained as much as the rest. This will allow the grove to develop, and the mess to be less of a problem.

They look good when young, but the cankers and dead wood can be unsightly. Even these can look nice from a distance, which is why I like the coppiced grove format.