Liriodendron tulipifera
The beautiful, quick growing tulip tree first emerged as a unique species more than 100 million years ago.
With a wide, straight trunk, deeply fissured gray bark, and an exceptionally tall canopy of broad, light green leaves, this forest titan is as imposing as the dinosaurs that hunted and browsed beneath it for about 35 million years.
A member of the gorgeous, floriferous magnolia family, Magnoliaceae, tulip tree is named for its tulip shaped, outsized flowers.
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Blooming in May, the flowers are approximately two to three inches wide, consisting of overlapping yellow and green petals which are bright orange on the undersides.
The inside of each flower sports a ring of large, protruding stamens and a conical, upright structure which holds the flower’s female parts.
At the base of each petal is a goopy dollop of sweet nectar which is a terrific source of food for pollinators, and nectar eating birds like hummingbirds and orioles.
The four-lobed leaves are large, up to eight inches long, and bright green during the growing season before transitioning to yellow in fall.
When a tulip tree reaches its maximal height of 120 feet, you likely won’t be able to see any flowers. Unless you find a specimen in full sun with low, broad branches, that is.
Read on to find out more about growing this tall spring bloomer. Here’s what I’ll cover:
What You’ll Learn
In the forest setting, this species tends to grow straight up, shooting towards the canopy as quickly as it can.
The Forest Service once recorded an 11-year-old seedling that was already 50 feet tall!
Hardy in Zones 4 to 9, L. tulipifera can be grown in a wide variety of climatic zones, but naturally occurs throughout the eastern United States, from southern New England to Georgia and west to the Ohio Valley and the shores of the Mississippi.
Quick Look
Common name(s): Tulip tree, tulip poplar, yellow poplar
Plant type: Deciduous landscape tree
Hardiness (USDA Zone): 4-9
Native to: North America
Bloom time / season: Late spring
Exposure: Full sun
Soil type: Loose, organically-rich, well draining
Soil pH: 6.0-7.0, slightly acidic to neutral
Time to maturity: 10 years
Mature size: 30 ft wide x 70-120 ft high (depending on cultivar)
Best uses: Specimen tree, wildlife garden, woodland
Taxonomy
Order: Magnoliales
Family: Magnoliaceae
Genus: Liriodendron
Species: Tulipifera
This tree loves loose, moist, freely draining soils but can be grown in a variety of substrates.
Also known as yellow poplar, tulip magnolia, and tulip poplar, this species has a multitude of uses. Its light, durable wood can be used for furniture, veneer, pulpwood, or plywood.
Parts of houses and barns in the south were often constructed from tulip tree wood as it is resistant to termite damage, and native people favored the wood for making canoes.
Thanks to its large flowers, yellow poplar is also a prodigious nectar producer and has tremendous value as a food source for bees.
A 20-year-old tree alone can reportedly produce the equivalent of four pounds of honey!
The bark was traditionally used medicinally by settlers and native people living within its range for a vast array of purposes.
Everything from fever, to pinworms to rheumatism was purportedly helped by drinking a tea of ground, soaked, tulip tree bark. It was considered an effective aphrodisiac too.
Modern day studies have confirmed anti inflammatory and antimicrobial properties present in the tissues of tulip tree.
Grown all over the temperate climes, this beautiful, easy going tree is popular for good reason.
Fortunately, there are several shorter statured cultivars to choose from in case you don’t have the space for such a giant.
Keep reading to learn how to grow this North American native in your backyard.
How to Grow
Although this species is a wonderful addition to mixed woodland, not all of us have the land to support so many trees.
Tulip tree makes a delightful specimen, somewhere out in the sunshine where it can grow to its behemoth height and dangle flower-laden branches.
The fall foliage is a dazzling yellow, and amazing to behold, too. Plant it somewhere you can easily see it year round.
Tulip tree is an easy to grow, unfussy choice that will thrive in a variety of settings.
Light
If possible, plant your tulip tree in full sun.
A little afternoon shade won’t hurt, but as L. tulipifera is known as a “pioneer” species, they are among the first to start turning open land back into forest, and to do this they need plenty of light.
Owing to their fast growth, this species is also fairly fragile. While full sun is important, keeping your tree out of locations exposed to high winds is critical too.
Big storms can really pummel a tulip tree, causing a huge mess of fallen branches and twigs.
Soil
This species prefers moist, freely-draining, loose soil that has a slightly acidic to neutral pH of 6.0 to 7.0.
If you live in an area with exceptionally sandy soils, L. tulipifera is unlikely to thrive.
Water
While your newly planted tulip trees are becoming established, make sure you provide water at least once a week in the absence of rain.
After about six months they should be relatively drought-tolerant.
Tulip trees have a very long taproot, but if summer is especially dry, and you can’t count on a shower at least once a week, make sure you continue to water it deeply.
I like to leave a hose on a trickle and place it at the base of my plant for a good couple of hours during dry spells.
Fertilizing
Some gardeners will suggest that you fertilize your tulip tree, but it’s not necessary.
These large, long lived, deep rooted trees will find the nutrients they need so long as they’re sited in an appropriate location.
Cultivars to Select
There are a few cultivars available but they can be somewhat hard to find. The main difference between cultivated varieties and the species plant is the height.
If you want to grow the species, you can find saplings available at Nature Hills Nursery.
Fast Growing Trees also carries the species in a variety of sizes.
If you can’t accommodate the mature size of the species in your own backyard there are a few, more compact cultivars to choose.
Arnold
‘Arnold’ is a narrow, upright cultivar growing to heights of 50 feet, and a width of 15 feet.
Emerald City
‘Emerald City’ has dark green leaves, bright yellow fall foliage, and tops out at about 55 feet high and 25 feet wide.
Little Volunteer
‘Little Volunteer’ features smaller leaves than the straight species, and grows to approximately 30 feet high and 20 feet wide.
Lucanthum
‘Lucanthum’ sports white blossoms, and grows as tall as the wild type species from which it is derived.
Propagation
L. tulipifera can be propagated from seed, stem cuttings, or by transplanting a sapling.
From Seed
If you live in an area within the native range of the tulip tree you can collect seed from a wild population.
You can collect the seed heads when they are light brown and come away from the plant easily. Throw away any seed with evidence of insect damage such as brown spots or little holes.
Store collected seed in a paper bag or envelope and keep in a cool, dark, well ventilated location until you’re ready to sow.
Like most temperate species, the seeds require a period of exposure to cold, known as cold stratification, before germination can take place.
L. tulipifera requires approximately three to four months of exposure to temperatures around 40°F.
You can cold stratify the seeds in your fridge, in a sealed jar or plastic bag, but I always prefer to let this task happen naturally, in the great outdoors.
To stratify your seed outside, prepare several four inch pots with freely draining potting soil.
Push two to three seeds per pot firmly into the top layer of soil so they won’t blow away, but aren’t completely covered.
Tulip tree germination can be very poor, so, not all of these seeds will germinate.
Sprinkle a fine layer of sand or grit over the top, just to hold the seeds in place, and make sure the pots stay moist through the winter.
Germination requires spring-like conditions, with temperatures fluctuating between 50 to 70°F, and lots of bright, indirect light.
When the seedlings are a few inches high, which could happen in a matter of months, you can transplant them into a suitable, prepared location in the garden.
However, it’s worth noting that tulip trees generally transplant better in the spring than the fall.
If you opt to plant your seedlings out in their first year, make sure to disturb their roots as little as possible.
Holding your young specimens over the winter and transplanting in the following spring will ensure better survival.
From Cuttings
L. tulipifera can also be grown from stem cuttings taken in the late summer and fall.
Prepare several deep pots with drainage holes in the bottom by filling with a mixture of equal parts peat moss, potting soil, and sand.
Make sure the substrate is moist throughout, but not soaking.
Use a sharp pair of pruners to cut a 12- to 18-inch length from the growing tip of a healthy branch. Try to select as straight a piece as possible and make sure it’s new, pliable growth that grew this year, or last.
New growth will be flexible, and not too woody. Remove the leaves from the lower half of the cutting by pinching them off with your fingers. Cut the leaves on the upper portion in half using sharp pruners or scissors.
Using a clean, sharp knife, shave away a small, vertical sliver of the bark at the bottom of the cutting. Dip the bottom of the cutting in powdered rooting hormone.
Poke a long hole in the soil using a pencil or stick and bury the bottom third of the cutting.
Place in a bright, sheltered location outside, somewhere out of the wind, and protected from any temperature extremes.
Keep the cuttings evenly moist. They should start to root after about six to eight weeks.
Transplanting
Tulip trees generally do best when they are transplanted in spring.
Prepare the soil in your chosen location, and dig a hole deep enough so the plant sits at the same level as it was in the growing container.
Try not to disturb the roots too much when you remove it from its pot, set it in the hole and backfill with soil.
If your soil is on the poorer side, throw in a few shovelfuls of compost for good measure and water in well.
Managing Pests and Disease
Like many native species, tulip tree is relatively disease-free when grown in its indigenous range.
Herbivores
The foliage is palatable to herbivores of all shapes and sizes, particularly deer and rabbits.
Saplings quickly outstrip the reach of little munchers, but may take a few years to grow beyond the range of deer or other large herbivores.
Protect saplings with deer fencing or in a ring of chicken wire.
Insects
Plenty of insects rely on tulip trees for nectar and pollen, but there are a few which can cause real damage.
Tulip Tree Scale
One of the largest soft scale insects in North America, female tulip tree scale (Toumeyella liriodendri) grow to about a third of an inch long, and are soft, squishy, and grayish-green to pinkish orange in coloration.
The males look like teeny, tiny flies or wasps, and are almost too small to be seen with the naked eye.
Feeding begins in spring and makes small twigs look bumpy or warty. Often the first indication that there is a scale infestation is the appearance of sticky residue on the foliage.
This honeydew can attract other insects and the fungi that causes sooty mold.
Heavy or prolonged infestations can cause twig or leaf dieback and young specimens may die.
You can learn about how to manage scale here.
Yellow Poplar Weevil
Odontopus calceatus are tiny black weevils only about an eighth of an inch long.
Their larvae cause unsightly blotches on foliage as they feed on the buds and leaves. Adults lay eggs along leaf midribs in late spring to early summer.
This weevil feeds on many different species including sassafras and magnolia. Typically, this is an aesthetic problem, and not a serious issue for infested tulip trees.
Should you find blotchy, spotted leaves, pinch them off and dispose in the trash.
Rootcollar Borer
The larvae of a fairly inconspicuous gray and dusky maroon moth, the rootcollar borer (Euzopher ostricolorella) does exactly what its name suggests.
Tunneling into the base of the trunk, the larvae feed on the tissues that transport sugars and nutrients within the plant.
This feeding is not always destructive to the specimen, however, the hole it creates can leave the specimen open to fungal infections such as rot and canker.
Adult moths lay eggs in bark crevices at night and are very hard to detect. After the larvae have tunneled inside the trunk, small holes may be visible.
You will often see discolored areas on the bark, particularly black streaking around the tunnels.
The only way to control an infestation is to apply horticultural oil or pesticides.
Disease
Tulip trees are mostly disease-free, especially if grown in optimal conditions. There are a couple to keep an eye out for.
Heartwood Rot
The term “heartwood rot” is a catch-all phrase for a disease caused by numerous different fungal pathogen that affect different species.
Fungi enter the plant tissue through wounds present on the trunk.
Often no signs of this disease will be evident until the tree comes crashing down in a storm, but sometimes, mushrooms will appear on the bark.
These mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of the fungus, and may indicate something sinister going on inside.
It’s easy to be disappointed if you find your beautiful, big specimen affected with this incurable condition. However, all is not lost.
Heartwood fungus is responsible for creating cavities inside the trunk which are essential for nesting owls, squirrels, and all other sorts of wildlife.
These old, hollow trees are a critical part of the forest ecosystem, as are their fallen trunks after they topple over and rot.
Stem Canker
A common disease of tulip poplars, stem canker causes swollen, misshapen twigs. It can be caused by a variety of pathogens in the phylum Ascomycota.
Pathogens enter through wounds in the bark and destroy the tissues used to transport water and nutrients. The infection results in a sort of callus, or scar, or sometimes sunken spots on the branches.
To manage stem canker, remove damaged twigs about four to six inches below the canker using sterilized pruners. Only do this in dry weather. Any moisture will serve to spread fungal spores.
Unfortunately, the new wounds you create can serve as new entry points for pathogens present on the bark.
Towering Tulip Tree
Titanic canopy tree, or gorgeous specimen for a bright, sunny spot, the straight trunk, quick growth, large, beautiful flowers, and bright green foliage of the tulip poplar are a boon for any backyard.
Are you growing tulip poplars or have you seen them in the wild? Let us know in the comments section below!
And to learn more about other native landscape trees, check out these guides next:
