Tulip Tree
Liriodendron tulipifera (MAGNOLIACEAE)
Planting and Growing Tulip Trees
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow tulip trees in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and seeds of tulip trees
- Growing conditions for tulip trees
- When to plant tulip trees
- How to plant tulip trees
- How to prune tulip trees
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of tulip trees
- Landscape uses of tulip trees
- Pest and disease control for tulip trees
Growing Tulip Trees
Several cultivars of fast- to medium-growing, open, deciduous trees, to 120 ft. (37 m) tall, with maplelike, dark green, toothed, 5- or 7-lobed leaves, to 7 in. (18 cm) long, turning yellow gold tinged with rose in autumn.
Common cultivars include Liriodendron tulipifera ‘Arnold’, ‘Aureo-marginatum’, and ‘Integrifolium’.
Tulip Tree Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Seeds
Fragrant, apricot yellow–tinged green, cup-shaped flowers, to 2 in. (50 mm) wide, in late spring on mature trees, form leathery seed clusters, to 3 in. (75 mm) long, in autumn.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 4–9.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil. Fertility: Rich. Add acidic compost. 6.0–6.5 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun. Space 15–25 ft. (4.5–7.5 m) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Allow soil surface to dry between waterings until established. Fertilize annually in spring until established. Prune in autumn. Propagate by cuttings, layering, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for accents, paths, screens in cottage, woodland gardens, lawns. Drops flowers, leaves, dry pods, requiring maintenance. Shallow rooted. Smog tolerant. Pest and disease resistant. Chlorosis susceptible.