Name: Donna Desheles
Status: other
Age: 40s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 5/15/2003
Question:
How do I start a tulip poplar tree? On which part of the
original tree can I find the seeds?
Replies:
Donna,
To answer your question, one picture is literally
worth one thousand words. I would recommend
consulting a dendrology book depicting various tree
species and their flowers/fruit at your local public
or university/college library.
The tulip poplar is interesting in that the flowers
resemble tulips, and the leaves occasionally look like
a tulip flower in cross section. As is usual, look
for the seeds to appear at the location of the
flowers, though later in the season. The seeds are in
a structure resembling an upright cone on the end of
branches. When the seeds ripen and fall from the
structure an upright "peg" is left.....these are often
visible in wintertime when the tree has lost its
foliage. I can report good resultant seed germination
from winged seeds easily dispersed a distance by the
wind and gravity. You might save time by locating a
seedling already growing in ground nearby a parent
tree.
One further piece of information you might find
interesting. Old tulip poplars collected and planted
by George Washington at his Mount Vernon Virginia
mansion whose fertility is reduced due to age are
being carefully pollinated in order to produce progeny
with a historical ancestry. You might try a search on
"Mount Vernon" and check if there are links to a way
to purchase these seeds. You will end up with the
same tree species but will have an interesting story
to tell a friend when you sit under its shade.
(Let me know if you need assistance locating a way to
purchase the historical seeds if you are interested)
NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.
