Hybrid Poplar

Full Sun

Acidic, Alkaline, Wet

Hybrid poplar bark, twigs and leaves are eaten by rodents, rabbits, deer, beavers and porcupines. It provides forage for browsing wildlife such as white-tailed and mule deer up through the sapling stage. It also provides important nesting and roosting habitat for various species of birds.

There are many crosses that go by the name “hybrid poplar,” but this one between eastern cottonwood from the United States and black poplar from Europe and North Africa has been a favorite for a very long time. Botanists and hobbyists in colonial times are said to have exchanged the parent trees across the ocean, with both natural and artificial hybrids soon resulting. The oldest account of the tree was given by a scientist in 1785.