Lombardy poplar

Agroforestry Services: Living trellis Agroforestry Services: Windbreak Fodder: Bank Historic Crop Industrial Crop: Biomass Management: Coppice Management: Standard Other Systems: Irreg. Intercrop Other Systems: SRC Other Systems: Strip intercrop A very easily grown plant, it does well in a heavy cold damp soil. Prefers a deep rich well-drained circumneutral soil, growing best in the south and east of Britain[11, 200]. Growth is much less on wet soils, on poor acid soils and on thin dry soils. It is fairly wind tolerant, though it does not do well in exposed upland sites, or in maritime exposure[11, K]. It dislikes shade and is intolerant of root or branch competition. A fast-growing tree, reaching maturity in about 100 years and declining thereafter. There are several named varieties that have been selected mainly for their ornamental value. The leaf buds, as they swell in the spring, and the young leaves have a pleasing fragrance of balsam. The fragrance is especially pronounced as the leaves unfold. Very tolerant of hard pruning, the trees have often been pollarded in the past. Plants seldom produce suckers. An important food plant for the caterpillars of several species of butterfly. Poplars have very extensive and aggressive root systems that can invade and damage drainage systems. Especially when grown on clay soils, they should not be planted within 12 metres of buildings since the root system can damage the building's foundations by drying out the soil. Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required. Special Features:Not North American native, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms. Carbon Farming Agroforestry Services: Living trellis Plants to physically support other crops. Agroforestry Services: Windbreak Linear plantings of trees and shrubs designed to enhance crop production, protect people and livestock and benefit soil and water conservation. Fodder: Bank Fodder banks are plantings of high-quality fodder species. Their goal is to maintain healthy productive animals. They can be utilized all year, but are designed to bridge the forage scarcity of annual dry seasons. Fodder bank plants are usually trees or shrubs, and often legumes. The relatively deep roots of these woody perennials allow them to reach soil nutrients and moisture not available to grasses and herbaceous plants. Historic Crop These crops were once cultivated but have been abandoned. The reasons for abandonment may include colonization, genocide, market pressures, the arrival of superior crops from elsewhere, and so forth. Industrial Crop: Biomass Three broad categories: bamboos, resprouting woody plants, and giant grasses. uses include: protein, materials (paper, building materials, fibers, biochar etc.), chemicals (biobased chemicals), energy - biofuels Management: Coppice Cut to the ground repeatedly - resprouting vigorously. Non-destructive management systems maintaining the soil organic carbon. Management: Standard Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems. Other Systems: Irreg. Intercrop Irregular intercropping systems are trees scattered throughout cropland. Other Systems: SRC Short-rotation coppice. Other Systems: Strip intercrop Tree crops grown in rows with alternating annual crops. References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information Temperature Converter Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit: Celsius Fahrenheit: The PFAF Bookshop Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants , Edible Perennials , Edible Trees , Edible Shrubs , Woodland Gardening , and Temperate Food Forest Plants . Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical) . Shop Now

Edible Parts: Inner bark Edible Uses: Inner bark - dried, ground then added to flour and used for making bread etc. A famine food, used when all else fails. References More on Edible Uses

Seed - must be sown as soon as it is ripe in spring. Poplar seed has an extremely short period of viability and needs to be sown within a few days of ripening. Surface sow or just lightly cover the seed in trays in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the old frame. If sufficient growth is made, it might be possible to plant them out in late summer into their permanent positions, otherwise keep them in the cold frame until the following late spring and then plant them out. Most poplar species hybridize freely with each other, so the seed may not come true unless it is collected from the wild in areas with no other poplar species growing. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 20 - 40cm long, November/December in a sheltered outdoor bed or direct into their permanent positions. Very easy. Suckers in early spring. This species rarely produces suckers.