Consider Planting Tulip Poplar in Your Yard

Yellow Poplar or Liriodendron tulipifera:
Tulip poplar is the state tree of Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky. The genus is closely allied with Magnolia and the flower is the size of a common garden tulip with two-toned orange and yellow petals. Yellow poplar displays a prominent yellow fall color and is a major part of the fall landscape throughout eastern North America. Yellow poplar is a fast grower on optimum sites. It quickly makes a lovely tree with some shade and without becoming brittle and messy.

Habit and Range:
Yellow poplar is a flowering tree that loves deep, rich, well drained soil. The tree grows into a tall but columnar tree of 70' to 90'. The tuliptree occupies a large eastern range in North America - from southern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and west to the Mississippi River. The tree is very tolerant to disease and insects. The tree grows and does extremely well under the right conditions.

Strong Cultivars:
Tuliptree is not know for native cultivars. Most cultivars are found in Europe that originated from the North American native.

Yellow Poplar Plant Hardiness Zone:
Yellow poplar hardy through zone 5...
See Plant Hardiness Zones

Expert Comments:
"This tree's notoriety seems to spring from its size and history...Some of the largest tuliptrees in cultivation in the East owe their origins directly to George Washington or Thomas Jefferson..." - Guy Sternberg, Native Trees for North American Landscapes

"Easily recognized because of its unique leaf, this native species enjoys near cosmopolitan distribution. It is hard not to bump into a Tulip Tree in the course of one's horticultural travels."- Michael Dirr, Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs