General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Tree
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Water Preferences: Wet
Wet Mesic
Mesic
Soil pH Preferences: Neutral (6.6 – 7.3)
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 2 -45.6 °C (-50 °F) to -42.8 °C (-45°F)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 9a
Plant Height: 50 to 80 feet, possibly 100 feet
Plant Spread: 30 to 60 feet
Leaves: Deciduous
Fruit: Other: Dehiscent capsule splits at maturity releasing densly tufted seeds.
Fruiting Time: Late spring or early summer
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Flower Color: Green
Other: Male flowers are red, female flowers are green
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Late winter or early spring
Uses: Shade Tree
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Birds
Resistances: Pollution
Flood Resistant
Drought tolerant
Salt tolerant
Propagation: Seeds: Self fertile
Pollinators: Wind
Miscellaneous: Tolerates poor soil
Dioecious
Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)

Conservation status:
Conservation status: Least Concern
Image
Common names
  • Eastern Cottonwood
  • Necklace Poplar
  • Plains Cottonwood
  • Alamo

Photo Gallery
Location: Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Date: 2023-10-20
two full-grown trees with yellowish fall color
Location: Zilker Nature Preserve, Austin, Texas
Date: 2022-04-05
Location: Zilker Nature Preserve, Austin, Texas
Date: 2022-04-05
Location: Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
Date: 2023-04-15
Populus deltoides - A male goldfinch, caught by accident when I p
Uploaded by alwaysbehindMN
Location: Hidden Lake Gardens, Tipton, Michigan
Date: 2012-10-04
Some of the best fall color I've seen in an eastern cottonwood.
Location: Delaware county, OH
Date: 2013-06-12
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-08-05
upper trunk and branches with leaves
Location: New Zealand
Date: 2017-11-19
Location: In my garden, Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens, South Amana, IA
Date: 2009-04-16
Location: South Amana, Iowa
Date: 2009-04-16
Location: Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Date: 2014-08-14
full-grown tree in summer
Location: Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Date: 2010-08-20
full-grown tree in summer
Location: Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Date: summer in 1980's
young maturing tree
Location: Glen Ellyn, Illinois
Date: summer in 1980's
double trunks with bark
Location: Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania
Date: 2015-09-04
summer leaves
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-08-05
mature tree in summer
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-08-05
mature trunk
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2017-08-05
summer leaves
Uploaded by robertduval14
Uploaded by robertduval14
Uploaded by Catmint20906
Location: Ft Worth Botanic, Tx
Date: 2017-11-18
Location: Ft Worth Botanic, Tx
Date: 2017-11-18

Credit NPS
This plant is tagged in:
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Comments:
  • Posted by ILPARW (southeast Pennsylvania - Zone 6b) on Jan 7, 2018 8:08 PM concerning plant:
    Eastern Cottonwood is a very common tree species growing in swamps, bottomlands, and near streams, creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes from western New England down to northwest Florida into central Texas up to eastern South Dakota & central Minnesota & central Wisconsin, southern Michigan into areas of southeast Canada a little into the tip of Quebec. It has big shiny leaves that are sort of triangular with big, rounded teeth and about 3 to 6 inches long x 4 to 5 inches wide that get a pale yellow autumn color often with some brown spots. The young bark is smooth and creamy tan but it soon becomes smooth gray-brown and then all brown and deeply furrowed. It is very fast growing of about 3 to 5 feet/year and lives about 100 to 125 years. It is a very tough and adaptable tree to many soils. It is weak-wooded and drops lots of twigs and branches. It has a shallow, fibrous root system and is easy to transplant. This species is not really for residential neighborhoods, but it is fine as a large tree in a large area as parks. Some native plant nurseries sell it for naturalistic situations.
  • Posted by robertduval14 (Milford, New Hampshire - Zone 5b) on Apr 18, 2013 9:10 PM concerning plant:
    State tree of Kansas.

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