# Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)

> The tallest eastern hardwood: a fast, straight-trunked tree with an oval crown, square-tipped four-lobed leaves that turn clear gold in fall, and tulip-shaped green-and-orange flowers high in the canopy in late spring. Cone-like seed clusters persist through winter. It is a magnificent lawn or park tree but too large and brittle for small lots or narrow planting strips, and its fleshy roots and leaves scorch in drought.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/liriodendron-tulipifera · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Tuliptree, Yellow-poplar
- Family: Magnoliaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, loses its leaves in winter
- Mature height: 27 m; spread 14 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 300 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 4 to 9
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Moderate water
- Soil: Deep, moist, well-drained, slightly acidic loam; poor on shallow clay that ponds or dries out
- Native range: Eastern North America from southern Ontario and Connecticut west to Illinois and south to central Florida and Louisiana, strongest in the Appalachians and Piedmont.

**Benefits:** Shade, Fast canopy, Flowers, Fall color, Pollinators, Wildlife, Birds, Long lived

**Good for:** Yard shade, parks, Timber

**Watch out for:** Weak wood, Surface roots, Heavy litter, Pest prone

## Care

Plant in early spring in deep, moist, well-drained soil and keep it evenly watered; it drops leaves in hot, dry spells. Structural pruning when young helps because limbs break in wind and ice. Aphids and the sooty mold that grows on their honeydew are the usual complaint; verticillium wilt and cankers are occasional.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** ON, Canada (Native to the Carolinian zone of southern Ontario.); United States (Native across the eastern US from Connecticut and Illinois to Florida and Louisiana (more than 15 states); state tree of Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.)
- **Recommended:** Sydney, NSW, Australia (On the City of Sydney Street Tree Master Plan 2023 precinct planting palette); Toronto, ON, Canada (On Toronto's list of species planted on streets (native to Ontario).); Denver, CO, United States (On the Denver Office of the City Forester Approved Street Tree List); Washington, DC, United States (On the Casey Trees Tree Rebate eligible species list); Atlanta, GA, United States (On the Trees Atlanta Top 50 Atlanta Trees list); Portland, OR, United States (On Portland's approved street tree list for planting strips 8.5 ft and wider.)

## Sources

- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/liriodendron-tulipifera/
- https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/tuliptree/
- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/LITU
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liriodendron_tulipifera