Tuliptrees Starting at 36" Tall / 3 Gallon $131

(Liriodendron tulipifera)

Tuliptree is the skyscraper of our eastern hardwood forests. Ask a forester to point out the tallest broadleaf tree in a healthy Piedmont cove and, more often than not, they'll be pointing at one of these: a ramrod-straight gray column that doesn't bother with branches until it's well above everyone else. And, just so we're all clear, it isn't a poplar at all. It's a member of the Magnolia family, which explains those flowers.

The Appalachians and the Piedmont that runs alongside them, right through our own corner of South Carolina, are the Tuliptree's true home turf. Around here it keeps company with oaks, hickories, Sweetgum, Red Maple, Flowering Dogwood and Loblolly Pine, and it's quick to claim abandoned fields and fresh clearings when it gets the chance.

The leaves are impossible to mistake. They run about 3" to 8" long and just as wide, and they hang on long stems that let them twist and flutter in a breeze. In autumn they turn a clean, buttery gold. From April into June, Tuliptree produces its stunning, tulip-like flowers. They're spectacular up close, but they usually open high in the crown after the leaves have filled in. 

Be patient with young trees; flowering usually begins somewhere between 12 and 20 years of age. By fall, each flower has become a slender, cone-like cluster of winged seeds that drift off on the wind from October into early spring, leaving the empty "cones" on the branches like little candle holders all winter long.

For wildlife, Tuliptree pulls a lot of weight. It is a larval host for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and its nectar-rich flowers feed ruby-throated hummingbirds, bumble bees and honey bees. Beekeepers prize it; the USDA Forest Service reports that a single tree younger than 20 years can yield about 8 lbs. of nectar in one season. Squirrels, finches, quail, rabbits and mice eat the seeds, and yellow-bellied sapsuckers love to drill neat rows of holes in the bark. On the flip side, deer and rabbits find young Tuliptrees delicious, so tree guards are a smart investment for new plantings.

The wood is light, soft, fine-textured and wonderfully easy to work, which is why the lumber trade (where it goes by Yellow Poplar) uses so much of it. You'll find it in furniture frames and core stock, cabinetry, millwork, plywood, veneer and pulpwood. 

Why container-grown matters: 

Tuliptree starts life with a deep taproot and a vigorous spread of lateral roots, and it does not appreciate having them chopped. Field-dug trees are best moved only in spring and need faithful watering afterward. Our container-grown Tuliptree brings its entire root system and its own familiar soil with it, which allows  a much wider and friendlier planting window. Seed source matters, too; Tuliptree from different regions can perform very differently when relocated, so trees grown from local Piedmont seed are well suited to Piedmont sites.

For information regarding common diseases and pests of Tuliptree visit Clemson Cooperative Extension's Home and Garden Information Center. 

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