Poplar tree: description of species, planting and care, use of the tree. Useful properties, propagation by cuttings (73 photos)

Description of the poplar tree species

Poplar is a dioecious deciduous tree, reaching a height of up to 35 meters. In a favorable environment, poplar can grow up to fifty meters in height. The diameter of the poplar trunk is from 60 to 120 centimeters, usually the trunk is straight.

The dense crown of the tree is pyramidal or tent-shaped. Young trees have dark green bark, which darkens over time and becomes covered with small cracks. The superficial root system has many branches.
The tree has large buds, up to ten millimeters in size. Smooth leaves of a rich green shade, wedge-shaped. Young leaves are sticky with resin.
In spring, at the same time as the leaves, inflorescences bloom, which have the shape of cylindrical spikelets: males are bright red, and females are yellow. At the beginning of summer, fruits ripen, similar to boxes with three leaves.

The poplar matures only at the age of ten; it is at this age that its flowering period begins. In a natural environment, a tree can live up to two hundred years; in urban conditions, this period is almost four times less.

Botanical description

Poplar belongs to the class of dicotyledonous deciduous crops of the Willow family. The rapid growth of the tree continues for the first 40-60 years, then it slows down. The average lifespan of a plant is 60-80 years, but there are representatives who are 120-150 years old.

The tree is large (up to 40 m tall), the trunk diameter reaches 1 m. The green crown comes in different shapes depending on the type: ovoid, pyramidal, spherical. The trunk has a gray bark of a brown or blackish tint. The surface is covered with cracks. The branches have a flat, smooth surface, painted gray with a slight olive tint.

Trees have a well-formed root system, most often superficial. She goes beyond the boundaries of the crown. Poplar leaves grow alternately. They are ovoid or lanceolate in shape. Reticulate venation is clearly visible on the surface of the plate.

Develops and grows quickly. Poplar wood is used in the furniture and wood industries. The poplar is ready to bear fruit only in 10-12 years. It blooms when the buds begin to open, sometimes before the leaves open. The flowers are represented by spike-shaped hanging earrings. The ovary is single. After flowering, a box with 2-4 opening flaps is formed. This is a fruit. The seeds are small, no more than 1-3 mm. They are oblong in shape. 1 g contains about 1000 seeds. Each seed has a tuft of hairs, which help it move long distances. This phenomenon is called “poplar fluff”. Young poplar shoots may appear the next year several kilometers from the parent tree.

Silver poplar

This variety of poplar grows in the European and Asian parts of the Earth. The maximum height of the silver poplar is thirty meters, and its lifespan is from 65 to 400 years.

It has a short but thick trunk and a spherical crown.
The first branches grow at a height of two meters from the ground.
The gray smooth bark has a greenish tint.
Over time, the bark darkens and older trees have almost black bark.

This type of poplar got its name due to the silvery hue of the buds that appear on young shoots.

The active flowering phase begins in late spring; the seeds of the tree look like cotton wool, which scatter over long distances from the tree.

Poplar pests

Tamara Galasyeva , Candidate of Agricultural Sciences

All types of poplars are susceptible to attack by several hundred species of insects and herbivorous mites, many of which are polyphagous (they also feed on other types of trees). Pests attack all plant organs: buds, leaves, shoots, branches, trunks and even roots.

Leaf-eating insects

Insects that feed on leaves are called leaf-eating pests. They are quite numerous and are represented by species from various families of butterflies, sawflies and beetles. The feeding of leaf-eating insects begins in early spring and continues until autumn. Pest larvae damage buds, skeletonize or eat away large areas of leaf blades.

The leaves are skeletonized mainly by beetles and larvae of small species of leaf beetles: Melasoma populi, M. tremulae, Chalcoides anrata, Ch. nidula. The elytra of these leaf beetle species are brightly colored red, blue-green or blue-violet. Caterpillars of butterflies, sawflies and some types of beetles eat holes in the leaves and even eat them whole.

Sawfly larvae are usually naked, with 7-8 pairs of abdominal legs. The body color is often greenish or bluish, with clear spots or stripes on the sides. Larvae usually feed in groups; Having eaten the leaves on one branch, they crawl to another. About 15 species of sawflies are known on poplars. In some years, poplar leaves are damaged to varying degrees by caterpillars of butterflies from the families of moths, cutworms, hawkmoths, corydalis, mothworts, nymphamides, etc. Often, outbreaks of willow moths - Leucoma salicis - appear in poplar and aspen forests. Damage to young leaves in the form of individual holes in the center of the leaf blades or on their edges is caused by weevils of the genus Phyllobius, May beetles and beetles of the genus Saperda. The leaves are damaged by the caterpillars of leaf roller butterflies and moths, having previously rolled them into tubes. The leaf blades are cut and rolled into dense “cigars” by tubeworm beetles of the genus Byctiscus.

Sucking pests

Sucking pests suck juices from buds, leaves, branches and even trunks. About a hundred species of such pests are known on poplars, including aphids, coccids (scale insects, false scale insects, mealybugs), leafhoppers, psyllids and herbivorous mites.

Most sucking pests are small and unnoticeable. They can be detected by sugary (sticky) secretions that not only cover the surface of leaves and shoots, but also attract ants. Among the coccids on poplars, such widespread polyphagous species as the apple comma, willow, California and false Californian scales are often found.

Gall formers

Gall formers are insects and herbivorous mites that form galls of various shapes, sizes and colors on the leaves and other organs of plants.

Some species of aphids from the genus Pemphigus, which belong to the migratory aphids, at the beginning of their development form galls on the leaves of various types of poplars in the form of a strongly thickened leaf folded in half, and then migrate to the roots of herbaceous plants of the families Asteraceae, Chenopodiaceae, Ranunculaceae and some others. Several species of monoecious aphids, also of the genus Pemphigus, live in the galls on the cuttings of poplar leaves, which have the shape of spirally twisted growths. Up to 70–80 aphids develop in one gall. Galls on the buds in the form of fleshy dissected growths up to 10 cm long are formed by the aspen cabbage mite.

Miners

Miners are insects whose larvae feed on leaf tissue, making variously shaped tunnels in the thickness of the leaf blade or growing shoot. The larvae's passages, or mines, can be whitish, yellowish or brown, narrow - ribbon-like or wide - in the form of spots. About a dozen species of insects are known that mine poplar leaves.

The most common are the oval, whitish mines of the poplar moth (Lythocolletis populifoliella). They are located, as a rule, on the underside of the leaves; on the upper side, skeletonized areas are observed in the corresponding leaves. With massive damage to poplar leaves, early yellowing and leaf drop are observed. The butterflies of this moth are small (about 0.4 mm), often fly into the windows of houses in the evening, hiding in cracks and cracks. Mines of the aspen sawfly Phyllostoma ochropoda, which look like shapeless brown spots on the upper side of the leaf, are found everywhere, as well as silvery mines of the patterned aspen moth Phyllochistis suffusella, which, as a rule, occupy the entire upper surface of the leaf.

Stem pests

Stem pests, or xylophages, feed on bark, bast and wood of branches and trunks. Most of them settle on dying and withered trees, dead trees, stumps and felled wood. These are numerous species of longhorned beetles, borers, bark beetles, borers, horntails, glass moths and wood borers.

The most harmful species are those that can colonize living, growing but weakened trees. These include some species of longhorned beetles of the genus Saperda, Lamia, Aromia, etc., as well as glass butterflies (Aegeridae), dark-winged and poplar (Aegeria apiformes and Parathren tabaniformes). The latter cause particular harm to poplars in nurseries, schools and parklands.

Larvae of the red aspen leaf beetle Red aspen leaf beetle Damage to leaves by the tubeworm Egg laying of the willow beetle Caterpillar of the eggs of the willow beetle Gray aspen beetle

Canadian poplar

This variety was bred by breeders. It differs in height: the plant can reach a height of more than thirty meters. This species is considered the tallest. This type of poplar has a large spreading crown.

In the spring season, large buds ripen on the tree.
The leaves are shaped like a triangle with serrated edges.
The leaf is about seven centimeters long and about ten centimeters wide.
After the buds swell, the catkins ripen; the active flowering phase begins in mid-spring.

North America is considered the birthplace of the Canadian poplar, although it is cultivated in the European part of the globe. The variety prefers well-moistened soils and is frost-resistant.

Poplar varieties

There are more than eighty varieties of poplars, most of them are wild trees, and some are the result of selection. They are the most adapted to cultural cultivation. These include:

Balsam poplar

Able to grow both in groups and singly. Adults reach a height of 25 meters, growing in height by about 1 meter per year. During flowering it emits a strong resin odor.

Silver poplar

The most common species in Russia. The height of an adult tree growing in the wild reaches 30 meters. Ornamental trees intended for cultural cultivation have a height of 8-10 meters.

Black poplar

A common tree in the temperate climate of the European part of Russia. The average height is about 30 meters. Tolerates frosty weather and dirty air well. Often used to design parks and alleys.

Pyramidal

Considered a variety of black poplar, it is characterized by very beautiful, contrasting, clearly defined narrow forms. Looking through photographs of the pyramidal poplar, you involuntarily realize that there is probably no more suitable tree for alleys.

It is ideal for arranging hedges and parks. Pyramid poplar leaves much later, having an attractive appearance until late autumn.

Black poplar

The growing area of black poplar is very extensive: central Russia, the Crimean Peninsula, Western Siberia. The powerful tree loves loose, well-moistened soils.

Young trees have gray bark, which darkens over time, becoming almost black. Because of this property, this variety of poplar got its name. Diamond-shaped leaves of rich green color.

The tree is frost-resistant, not demanding on soil, but grows faster in places where the soil is saturated with humus.

What does Poplar look like?

Poplar is a slender, tall tree with a strong, thick trunk and a silvery crown. The height of the Black Poplar sometimes reaches 40 meters, while the maximum recorded trunk girth is more than 4 meters.

The Poplar crown is very dense and wide. Over time, many branches dry out. It’s as if negative energy is drying up an old tree from the inside.

The bark of the common Poplar has a grayish tint and cracks over time.

The tree is dioecious. In summer, female flowers turn into that same poplar fluff - white snow against the backdrop of a sultry summer.

sweet poplar

The most popular type of poplar, whose homeland is the Far Eastern territory. Sweet poplar also grows in Mongolia. The tree reaches a height of twenty meters.

It is the fragrant poplar that decorates the streets of Russian cities.
The oval-shaped crown is formed from branches growing at an angle of 70°.
The crown diameter can reach fifteen meters.
Young trees have smooth greenish bark.

The length of the narrow leaves reaches ten centimeters, the width is six centimeters. Not a fastidious tree, prefers chernozem and clay soils, frost-resistant. The flowering period begins in late spring.

When does poplar bloom?

Flowering directly depends on the region, approximately in May, in the south - in April. It is interesting that before or during the blooming of the leaves, the poplar flowers begin to bloom - catkins of different sexes: male and female. They are pollinated by the wind.

The flowers contain a lot of pollen, so poplar is a good honey plant.

Many allergy sufferers are concerned about how long the poplar blooms. In the south, flowering may begin at the end of March, in the northern regions - in May. Basically, this is the 2-3rd decade of April. And the fluff will appear in a couple of months (with seeds) - in June-July. It all depends on the region and climate.

Only at the age of 10 will there be flowers and fruits. It is the fruits of the tree (boxes with fluffy fibers) that worry local residents.

The flowering period of poplar is approximately in June-July; ripe fruits with seeds are torn from the branches and the wind scatters them throughout forests or city squares.

Everyone knows from childhood how poplar blooms - it's white fluff. But this can be easily avoided if you plant only male trees.

Now they have begun to take this into account so as not to cause allergies among city residents.

Lombardy poplar

This variety of poplar can reach a height of up to forty meters. The tree is a long-liver, since its life span can last up to three hundred years.

It grows in our country, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.
The tree loves sunlight and slightly acidic soil and actively develops in the first ten years of life.
The crown is narrow and long, the bark is dark brown and covered with cracks.
In mature trees, the diameter of the swot can reach one meter.

After the leaves appear, the flowers begin to ripen, which are collected in inflorescences. This poplar variety is perfectly adapted to urban conditions.

Poplar

Poplar - general view Pyramidal poplar

Poplar (lat. Populus) is a genus of dioecious (rarely monoecious) deciduous fast-growing trees of the Willow family (Salicaceae).

Spreading

Poplars grow in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere (Holarctic distribution), from the subtropical regions of China, where their center of origin is located, to the boreal zone. In America, they are distributed south to Mexico. Populus ilicifolia is native to East Africa.

In nature, most species grow in river valleys and well-moistened slopes. Aspen (Populus tremula) also inhabits salt licks and former oak and spruce forests. Variegated poplar (Populus heterophylla) can be found on dune sands. In cultivation, poplars grow successfully on any soil.

Poplars require soil richness and aeration, but can withstand waterlogging.

The rapid growth of poplars continues until 40–60 years, after which it slows down. Some species live up to 120–150 years, but usually plants are affected early by various fungal diseases.

Botanical description

Large trees with a height of 40–45 m (up to 60 m) and a trunk diameter of more than 1 meter. The crown is tent-shaped, ovoid, ovoid-pyramidal or pyramidal. The trunk bark is fissured, brownish-gray or dark gray; branches - smooth, gray or olive-gray.

The root system is strong, but mostly superficial, extending far beyond the crown projection.

The leaves are petiolate, alternate, glabrous or pubescent, from lanceolate to broadly ovate, the shape of the leaf depends on the shoot on which it is located and on the position on this shoot, the venation is reticulate.

The plant is dioecious, sometimes monoecious, blooms before the leaves appear or simultaneously with them; The ability to bear fruit occurs at 10–12 years. The flowers are collected in cylindrical, erect or pendulous inflorescences - catkins (spike-shaped racemes), which fall off as the seeds fade or fall out. Each flower in an catkin develops in the axil of a palmately dissected bract; above which there is a so-called disc, saucer-shaped or goblet-shaped in pistillate flowers and lamellar in staminate flowers. The ovary is solitary, with 2–4 sessile lobed stigmas. Stamens from 3 to 60, with a short filament and a bilocular anther. Bisexual flowers are very rarely found.

The fruit is a capsule that opens with 2–4 valves. The seeds are small, oblong or oblong-ovate, black or black-brown, 1–3 mm long, at the base they have a tuft of numerous thin silky hairs (“poplar fluff”). There are more than 1,000 seeds in 1 g.

Economic importance and application

Poplar wood is light, white, soft, well processed and used very widely for technical purposes: as raw material for paper, for the production of artificial silk, for the production of match straws, plywood, simple furniture, lumber, containers, dugout boats and much more. The wood is also used for firewood and low-quality charcoal, since the calorific value of poplar firewood is 1.5 times less than the calorific value of, for example, birch firewood. In the southern, sparsely forested areas, wood is used to construct buildings. Poplar wood was also used for a long time in the construction of railways as sleepers.

Violet dye is obtained from the buds, yellow dye is obtained from the leaves.

Shoots with leaves serve as twig food for livestock.

In winter, the relatively vertical position of the poplar trunk becomes noticeable, which has led to the widespread use of poplar in the landscaping of streets and alleys. Poplar grows quickly and produces soft wood, continuing to grow even if the tree is broken or the top of the tree is sawed off.

Due to the relatively rapid growth and formation of biomass, poplar, along with willow, is used as a regenerative energy source for the production of fuel (ethanol) and heat (combustion). Research has shown that some types of endophytes are capable of accelerating the growth of poplars even more.

In the USA, Canada, EU and China, field trials of genetically modified poplar are being conducted to improve wood quality, pest resistance and the absorption and accumulation of heavy metals for soil remediation.

Different types of poplar, especially black poplar, provide pollen to honey bees during flowering.

During the growing season, a 15-year-old poplar evaporates 82 m³ of water, which makes it possible to use it in agroforestry.

Species of the genus Poplar

The genus includes more than 95 species, which are distributed into 6 sections.

Section Mexican poplars (Abaso)

Area: Mexico. They are distinguished by the small size of all parts.

Populus mexicana – Mexican poplar

Section Deltoid poplars (Aigeiros)

It differs from others by its characteristic delta-shaped leaves on long petioles, like aspens. There are tree forms that have a pyramidal crown, which are grown in the southern regions of Russia - the so-called pyramidal poplars.

Populus nigra – Black poplar, or Osokor
Populus deltoides – Deltoid poplar
Populus fremontii

Section Leucoid poplars (Leucoides)

Apparently, the most ancient group of poplars. They have the largest buds, earrings and leaves.

Populus lasiocarpa
Populus glauca
Populus heterophylla – Variegated poplar
Populus wilsonii

Section Populus

The most common group. Unlike other representatives of the poplar genus, the buds and leaves do not secrete a sticky substance; the petioles are long, which is why the leaves of all aspen trees begin to tremble even in light winds. Contains a species of aspen (Populus tremula) and a group of white poplars

. Close to aspens. A distinctive feature is the palmate-lobed shape of the leaves of the shoots and the dense snow-white pubescence of the underside of these leaves.

Populus adenopoda
Populus alba typus – Silver poplar, or white poplar
Populus gamblei
Populus grandidentata – Large-toothed poplar
Populus guzmanantlensis
Populus monticola
Populus sieboldii – Siebold poplar
Populus simaroa
Populus tremula – Aspen, or Trembling Poplar
Populus tremuloides – Aspen poplar

Section Balsam poplars (Tacamahaca)

The buds and leaves are richest in fragrant resin.

Populus angustifolia
Populus balsamifera – Balsam poplar
Populus ciliata
Populus koreana
Populus laurifolia – Laurel poplar
Populus maximowiczii – Poplar Maximowiczii
Populus simonii – Simon's Poplar
Populus suaveolens – Sweet poplar
Populus szechuanica – Szechuan poplar
Populus trichocarpa
Populus yunnanensis – Yunan poplar

Turanga section

From a distance they resemble aspen, but the crown is looser. Unlike all other poplars, their trunk grows not monopodially, but sympodially, like willows.

Populus euphratica – Turanga euphratica
Populus ilicifolia
Populus pruinosa – Blue poplar, or Turanga silifolia

Hybrid species

Populus ×acuminata
Populus ×berolinensis – Berlin poplar, a hybrid of laurel poplar and black poplar
Populus ×canadensis – Canadian poplar, a hybrid of deltoid poplar and black poplar
Populus ×canescens – Graying poplar, a hybrid of white poplar and aspen
Populus ×generosa
Populus ×jackii – a hybrid of deltoid poplar and balsam poplar
Populus ×moskoviensis – Moscow Poplar, a hybrid of Sweet Poplar and Laurel-leaved Poplar
Populus ×petrowskiana – Petrovsky Poplar, a hybrid of deltoid poplar and sweet poplar
Populus ×rasumowskiana – Poplar Razumovsky, a hybrid of Poplar Wobst and Poplar laurelfolia
Populus ×vernirubens
Populus ×woobstii – Wobst's Poplar, a hybrid of Laurel-leaved Poplar and Balsam Poplar

Wood

Description of some species of the Poplar genus, their mechanical properties and technical characteristics

Name	Other names	Botanical name	Distribution (region, country)	Tree dimensions (m)		Density (kg/m³)	Module		Collapsing Strength (Mpa)	Drying shrinkage (%)			Janka hardness
Name	Other names	Botanical name	Distribution (region, country)	height	dia. trunk	Density (kg/m³)	rupture (MPa)	elasticity (GPa)	Collapsing Strength (Mpa)	radial	tangential	volumetric	kN	English pounds / lb f
1. Section Deltoid poplars (Aigeiros)
1. Black poplar	Osokor, Pyramid poplar	Populus nigra	Europe, Western Asia (Siberia - up to the Yenisei, Central and Asia Minor, Eastern Kazakhstan, Western China, Iran), North Africa; planted as an ornamental in North America	25–35	1–2	385	63,7	7,21	36	4	9,3	12,3	2,02	460
2. Alamo	Eastern Cottonwood	Populus deltoides	North America (central and eastern US)	30–45 (up to 50)	1.2–2 (up to 2.5)	450	58,6	9,45	33,9	3,9	9,2	13,9	1,91	430
2. Section Populus
3. Aspen	Common aspen, Trembling poplar	Populus tremula	Temperate regions of Europe and Asia	15–20 (up to 35)	0,6–1	450	62	9,75	35	4,8	8,3	13,2	1,65	380
4. White poplar typus	Silver poplar	Populus alba	North Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Canary Islands), Europe (except Scandinavia); Minor, Central and East Asia	30–35	0.6–1 (up to 2)	440	65	8,9	–	3,2	5,2	8,4	1,82	410
5. Coarse poplar	Bigtooth Aspen	Populus grandidentata	Northeast North America	20–25	0,6–0,7	435	62,8	9,86	36,6	3,3	7,9	11,8	1,87	420
6. Aspen poplar	Quaking Aspen	Populus tremuloides	Canada and northern USA	20–30 (up to 35)	0,6–1	415	57,9	8,14	29,3	3,5	6,7	11,5	1,56	350
3. Section Balsam poplars (Tacamahaca)
7. Balsam poplar	–	Populus balsamifera	West coast of North America	18–21 (until 27)	0,6–1	370	46,9	7,59	27,7	3	7,1	10,5	1,33	300
8. Poplar pilosa	Western Balsam Poplar, California Poplar	Populus trichocarpa	Western North America	30–45 (up to 50)	1,5–2	385	58,6	8,76	31	3,6	8,6	12,4	1,56	350

Laurel leaf variety

It grows on Siberian soil and grows up to 18 meters in height. It grows well not only in sunny areas, but also in shady places. The crown of the tree is tent-shaped, bright green leaves are attached by cuttings to young shoots.

Old trees have cracked bark. Sticky buds grow up to two centimeters in length, round leaves are from six to fifteen centimeters long, from two to seven centimeters wide. Rare tree earrings look like fringes.

Reproduction

Poplar propagates in two different ways. For planting, you can use prepared cuttings or seeds. Each option has its own characteristics.

Seed propagation method

When growing poplar, this method is rarely used, since various difficulties can be encountered. Only fresh seeds or those that have been stratified in special nurseries can germinate.

Every day the percentage of germination of fresh seeds decreases. In a week it will be almost zero.

For planting stratified seeds, loose soil (a mixture of sand and peat) is prepared. Seeds are sown in a small amount of soil for germination. In a month, young shoots will appear.

Propagation by cuttings

It is easy to root young shoots. They are quickly fixed and do not require special conditions or care. One-year-old branches are used as cuttings, which are cut in early spring. You can prepare planting material in late autumn. It is better to use thin branches of about 1 m. A prerequisite is the presence of buds on the cuttings. The prepared material is divided into pieces of 17-20 cm.

The best period for rooting is early spring (after the snow melts) or autumn (when the leaves have fallen). The cuttings are buried in moist soil so that no more than 7-8 cm remains on the surface.

With proper care, young shoots will appear from the buds. By autumn, the young tree will already reach 1 m in height. After a year, the young seedlings are transferred to a permanent place.

Poplar wood

The tree is a soft wood and is therefore poorly resistant to mechanical stress. Poplar wood is porous, yellowish in color, and prone to swelling.

It is susceptible to fungal formations and rapid destruction. The following are made from poplar wood:

Paper and matches;
Taru;
Artificial fabric;
Charcoal;
Some kitchen utensils: cutting boards;
Cuttings for garden tools;
Construction materials for finishing.

History and brief characteristics of poplar

Just a few hundred years ago, the poplar was considered a folk tree, a symbol of the struggle for rights, freedom and independence. Under it, important agreements were concluded, documents were drawn up, and allegiance was sworn. Based on Chinese traditions, the poplar was the personification of opposites: yin and yang, black and white, end and beginning, masculinity and grace.

Since ancient times, poplar was considered a delicate and delicate creature. There were legends that a tree was able to absorb negative energy and become a defense for the home from ill-wishers and evil spirits. For small and large settlements they were identified with guards. Many people believed that when passing by a poplar, a person became better, cleaner, evil thoughts disappeared, and only positivity remained.

There is an opinion that the original name of the tree is Popol, from the Latin “populous” (people). There are more than 90 species, some are considered rare (black poplar) and are listed in the Red Book. The distribution halo is extensive: Northwestern Russia, Siberia, China, Mexico, America, Far East, East Africa.

The tree grows rapidly. The maximum age officially registered is 150 years. There is information about the presence of Black Poplar, whose age exceeds 400 years.

The height of the tree reaches from 10 to 40 meters, the width (including the crown) is from 2.5 to 12 meters. A trunk with a diameter of 4 meters was recorded. Belongs to the category of deciduous. Has a powerful root system. It is not afraid of severe frosts, and therefore grows under different climatic conditions. He has no complaints about the composition of the soil. Cool garden soil is suitable.

The crown is dense and wide. Over the years, the branches begin to dry out. The bark is gray and becomes cracked over time. Belongs to the dioecious type. In the summer, females become annoying with their abundant fluff, which people with allergies are so afraid of. Flowering occurs at the end of April - mid-May, depending on the temperature and region. In the Far East, poplar fluff is observed in late May-early June. The high pollen content in flowers makes poplar an excellent honey plant. June - July is the time of ripening of fruits, which are carried by the wind over long distances.

One of the few trees that can change its gender. Male specimens produce earrings characteristic of female species. Scientists suggest that this is due to high air pollution and environmental deterioration.

Poplar, in addition to positive qualities, contains some negative characteristics. The presence of fluff forces allergy sufferers to leave their homes for a certain time and move to countries where there is no poplar. Wood fragility poses a great threat to private homes. Even with minor gusts of wind, dry branches are separated from the trunk and can pierce the roof, damage the asphalt surface, and cause damage to a car parked in the immediate vicinity.

Use in medicine

The buds of some poplar varieties are used for medicinal purposes. The composition of the kidneys contains:

Glycosides;
Acids;
Tannins;
Resins and essential oils.

The buds are collected in mid-spring, producing salicylic acid and populin, which have an antimicrobial effect and an antipyretic effect.

Infusions and decoctions of poplar buds are indicated for removing phlegm from the lungs, for the treatment of stomatitis, various pulmonary and kidney diseases, and hemorrhoids. The decoction perfectly heals abrasions and cuts. Some anti-dandruff shampoos contain an extract from the kidneys.

The healing properties of Poplar

The bark, seeds and buds of the plant are used as medicine.

Poplar bark contains tannins, glycosides and alkaloids. Thanks to this, a decoction of the bark has a sedative effect and calms the nervous system.

At the same time, tannins have an astringent effect and are effective for stomach disorders.

Kidney decoctions effectively fight inflammation and increase the body's resistance.

An infusion of Poplar leaves is used as a wound healing agent.

There are drugs based on Poplar that can cope with depression and normalize sleep.

Poplar buds, ground into powder and mixed with other ingredients, are used for hair loss. This ointment can stimulate hair follicles.

Poplar care

Since the tree is unpretentious, no special care is required. It is only necessary to loosen the soil under the tree, water it in dry times and trim the branches. Pruning should be done in autumn or spring.

In order for the crown of a tree to look attractive, it needs to be formed correctly.
Sanitary tree pruning is very important, which involves removing dry and damaged branches.
In the thirtieth year of poplar life, trees are usually rejuvenated by removing a fifth of the crown from above.

After any pruning, the cut areas should be treated with garden varnish, the tree should be watered and fertilizer should be added to the soil. In the first year of life, the tree needs to be watered three times a month.

Poplar propagation

Most trees are easy to propagate:

Root suckers
By cuttings. Cut off the shoots and first immerse them in water for rooting. Sometimes they are immediately planted in the ground.
Seeds

There is a drawback - the seeds quickly lose their viability, you only need fresh ones. Store in a cool, dry place for up to a year.

Poplar in landscape design

The popularity of wood in landscape design is explained by its ability to purify the air from pollution. Poplar grows quickly, so it can be planted in garden plots, squares and parks.

The best variety of poplar is one that does not reach gigantic heights. The poplar root system is capable of strengthening unstable soil. This applies to landslide areas.

A young tree requires careful care, which consists of watering and loosening the soil under the tree. It is important to carry out loosening after all the snow has melted. Once the poplar reaches six years of age, you can not loosen the soil, but sow lawn grass under the tree. You need to feed the tree with fertilizers regularly.

Poplars are beneficial

However, it cannot be said here that poplars are beneficial. And a lot! One of the most important positive qualities of poplars, which actively influence the ecology of Russian cities, is the ability of these trees to withstand the polluted air of a large metropolis, especially near urban areas with industrial enterprises.

The fact is that the wide and abundant leaves of poplar actively purify the atmospheric air from dangerous impurities. At the same time, they release much more useful oxygen into the environment, compared, for example, with coniferous plantations.

Since poplars quickly recover from serious damage, rapidly growing young shoots, and certain types of poplars also have considerable decorative potential, poplars are of particular importance in terms of landscaping the city’s infrastructure.

Poplar diseases

Dark red spots and swelling of the cortex may be a sign of cancer or dropsy. These are infectious diseases that lead to the appearance of very deep cracks and deformation of the trunk.

If a tree is affected by these diseases, it is removed, since bacterial diseases of poplar cannot be cured.
Growths on the bark that are dark red, black or yellow indicate the appearance of cytosporosis or another fungal disease.
In this case, treatment with fungicides will be sufficient. Diseased areas should be removed.

Damaged leaves may indicate the presence of pests: sawflies, caterpillars, aphids. In this case, the tree must be treated with insecticides.

Diseases and pests

Poplar is highly resistant to most diseases and pests. But there are certain insects and diseases that can harm poplar plantings:

tree cancer;
necrosis;
all kinds of small pests that feed on young leaves and sap (aphids, psyllids, moths).

To treat each disease, a corresponding chemical is used. To cope with poplar-spruce aphids, trees are sprayed with a solution of karbofos. Intraplant insecticides are used to control gall psyllid. When there is a large appearance of moth caterpillars, the plantings are treated with organophosphorus insecticides. Oxygen sulfur is used to combat rust and scab.

Interesting Facts

Willow is the closest relative of poplar.

In Soviet times, urban landscaping was carried out mainly with poplar trees.
Over the course of a year, poplar can filter up to thirty kilograms of dust and harmful substances.
The plant is a fast-growing plant: in one year the tree can grow up to four meters in height.
Poplar fluff is often the cause of forest fires.
Tree buds are the raw material for purple paint.
At the moment, there are more than a hundred species of this tree in the world.
The ability to spread fluff is inherent only in female poplars.
There are about thirty types of poplars growing in our country.

The tree is considered an excellent honey plant, since poplar flowers contain a large amount of pollen.

Feel the scale!

If we turn to the scientific classification, we should recall that it belongs to the genus of dioecious (sometimes monoecious) fast-growing “deciduous” trees belonging to the “Willow” tree family.

Moreover, the genus of poplars is one of the most numerous and most widespread representatives of this family on the planet.

Almost the entire northern hemisphere of the Earth (in temperate latitudes and subtropics) is the distribution area of poplar.

Such a large tree can be found both in Russia and in all countries of the hemisphere (Europe and Asia, North America and even East Africa). It is able to adapt to any type of soil, tolerate drought, severe cold and waterlogging of the soil.

Today, several dozen species of poplar (more than 90) grow on Earth. This includes such species known to Russians as “pyramidal” and “ordinary” poplar, “white” (“silver”) and “sedge” (“black”), “balsam”, “laurel-leaved”, “fragrant”, “Canadian” " and many others.

Photo of poplar tree

Application of Poplar

Poplar wood is used in industry as a raw material for making paper, matches, plywood and even charcoal.

Despite the fact that Poplar wood is not a favorite material for carvers and joiners, it is very valuable. The tree is able to quickly reach its ripeness, therefore it is an important and rapid source of renewable natural resources.

Pine in this .

Many types of plants are unpretentious in the soil and are able to withstand increased air pollution, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. That is why this plant has been planted in parks and along roads for many decades in a row.

Unfortunately, Poplar is also known for being a strong irritant for allergy sufferers. This fact was clearly not taken into account in Soviet times during the mass planting of Poplars in residential areas.

Application

In medicine

Black poplar buds have an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effect. Also antipyretic, analgesic and diuretic effect. They have a calming effect on the nervous system and are therefore used as a sedative. Tincture of buds and young leaves is used in gynecology, as well as for the treatment of dermatitis, wounds and ulcers.

Preparations from poplar are taken orally for laryngitis, tonsillitis and bronchitis, neuroses, inflammation of the bladder, intestinal sluggishness, colds, flu, vitamin deficiencies.

Ointments and even baths from poplar buds are prescribed for radiculitis, rheumatism, and for the treatment of skin diseases.

In cosmetology

A decoction of black poplar buds is used for hair loss and dandruff. A special ointment is made for this. For one part of poplar buds there are two parts of vegetable oil. Boil for 30 minutes and then leave for three weeks. Strain into a jar and massage the head. Then your hair will become thicker and stronger.

An ointment made from crushed poplar buds and butter is used to get rid of age spots and freckles.

Preparation and storage

For medicinal purposes, poplar buds are harvested in the spring, when they are still hard and do not bloom. They should be dried at a temperature of 30-35 degrees. Dry buds are transferred to a glass jar or paper bag. They can be stored for up to two years.

The leaves are collected from late spring to early summer, when they are still young. Bark from young trees is collected in early spring. But in order not to injure the trees, bark should be collected only from cut branches or broken trees.