Plant · P-143

Black Poplar

Populus nigra

Black Poplar is a fast-growing European river-valley tree, usually planted in its narrow, columnar Lombardy form for a quick windbreak, but it commonly dies of Cytospora canker before reaching full height, especially in hot, humid climates. It performs poorly on exposed upland sites, which undercuts the one job most people plant it for. Its shallow, suckering roots lift pavement and damage drainage, and it drops constant litter, cotton from female trees, and heavy pollen from males. Eastern Cottonwood, a related tree, grows about as fast, lives roughly three times as long, and tolerates alkaline soil above pH 8 that this species does not.