Liriodendron tulipifera
Tulip tree
Common names: American tulip tree
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Hardy
- Pruning
- Feb–Mar
- Flowering
- Jun
Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) is a stately North American hardwood that quickly develops a prominent crown in parks and large gardens. In June it produces bright yellow-green, tulip-shaped flowers with an orange spot at the base, attracting many bees and other insects. The four-lobed leaves turn a vivid gold in autumn before falling. Because it can exceed 30 m in height, it is suitable only for very large sites, not for average small gardens.
Care instructions
Plant the Tulip tree in a sunny to partially shaded location with deep, humus-rich, moderately moist soil. Water regularly during the first two to three years after planting to establish a strong root system. Pruning is usually unnecessary; remove only dead or crossing branches in late winter. Young trees tolerate frost well but benefit from a mulch layer in the first winter to protect the roots. Plan sufficient distance from buildings and utilities from the outset, as the tree grows very large and wide over time.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringJun
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, moist, humus-rich, nutrient-rich
The tulip tree likes deep, humus-rich soil that holds moisture but allows no waterlogging. It grows best on slightly acidic to weakly acidic soil and avoids pure chalk subsoil. A nutrient-rich garden soil with good drainage gives it the strength for its rapid growth.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Mar, May
One dose of compost in early spring is usually quite enough for the young plant. If growth is visibly weak, you can work in mature compost or horn shavings shallowly once more in May. Older, established trees manage without extra feeding as long as the site stays humus-rich.
Pruning
In the first years on site a formative pruning is worthwhile, building a stable framework of leading branches and removing competing shoots. Prune in late winter before growth starts, when the tree is still bare and wounds heal well. Older trees need hardly any intervention; just remove dead or damaged wood as needed.
Overwintering
As a mature tree, the tulip tree is quite hardy in Central Europe and needs no special protection. Young plants in the first years on site benefit from a mulch layer over the root zone so that the soil does not freeze through. In very harsh locations, a loose winter protection of brushwood for the crown of the young plant is additionally worthwhile.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
- Grafting
Sowing is most likely to succeed with fresh seed, which needs a cold period for stratification, although it often germinates only hesitantly. More reliable is propagation from semi-ripe cuttings in summer, which root in a bright, warm place. For plants true to type with a special leaf shape, nurseries usually resort to grafting. Patience is needed with all methods, because the tulip tree develops rather slowly in the first years.
For your garden
Grow Tulip tree yourself
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