Free Hybrid Poplar Cuttings
|
I have grown hybrid poplars for over 35 years and I know every trick there is about hybrid poplars. I have also been sending free willow cuttings to homeowners for 10 years. The process was very awkward, costly and slow because it involved that you would send me a stamped envelope with your name and address which I would return right away. Well, I can't do that with hybrid poplar cuttings because of their size. They are much thicker and require to be handled a different way. I think the method I am using now is much easier for you, and for me. You give me your information online, and I send you the cuttings. |
|
While there are over 500 different hybrid poplar clones that have been "manufactured", I carry only the one I think is the best of all, the OP-367. This tree grows 10 ft. on the first year alone. These cuttings are capable of growing to an astonishing 100 ft. in height with a crown 40 ft. wide in only 10 years.
Planting hybrid poplars indoors: You do this if it is the middle of winter and you don't have a greenhouse. Fill the bags (I will send you 3 grow bags with the cuttings) with good potting soil (be sure there is no fertilizer in the soil, it could kill the cuttings).
If you can't find soil, I have put together bags with enough Pro-mix BX to fill all 3 bags, you can get it here. Another way to get the Pro-Mix is getting a hold of a manufacturer's representative who can direct you to the store where you can buy it. The manufacturer's web site is at pthorticulture.com. From the front page click on Distributors and then click on Modify to select your State. There will be a few listings of distributors with phone numbers in your state. They should be able to direct you to a retailer who handles pro-mix in small packages.
If you are in Canada, it is much easier, just go to pthomeandgarden.com and click on Store Locator. After you enter the postal code it will show you a map with many store choices.
Insert the cuttings all the way into the soil so the top bud is barely showing out of the soil. The bud should be facing up. Putting the cuttings in the soil upside down will kill them. Water well (there is a vent hole in the bottom, so a saucer or a small tray is advisable) and place the bags in a sunny window sill with southern exposure if at all possible. Keep the container moist but not wet.
 OP-367 hybrid poplar cutting |
 OP-367 in Grow Bag |
Within 4 days or so after you plant them, you will start seeing the bud enlarge, then it will have some red, green, yellow and then the whole thing will turn green and the first leaf will open up. All this will happen within the first week... unless you have the bags in a basement window where temperature is 55 degrees. For these cuttings to grow they need at least 65 degrees. The trees will survive but will not do any quick growing during the winter due to the fact that they don't get enough sunlight. For normal growth need about 14 hours of sunlight. Sunlight during the winter is limited to only 9 hours daily.
Continue giving the trees full sun. The plants can be taken outside when temperatures are above 40 degrees and planted outdoors after all danger of frost is over. Protect the trees from deer by using liquid fence or use tree shelters.
Planting poplars outdoors. If you want to start your cuttings outdoors and are brave enough to work when the temperatures are down in early Spring, prepare the soil to 6" deep. place the cuttings in the soil and push them down until only one bud shows. Water them well. If the soil temperature is over 60 degrees at night, they will start sprouting within a week. If it is colder, the cuttings will not start growing until the temperature is 60 or above and the amount of light is adequate.
I have planted cuttings in November (southeastern Pennsylvania) to see the trees starting to grow in April. The only problem with planting this early in the North is that the continuos freezing and thawing of the soil will push the cuttings out of the ground. So, if you find cuttings just laying on the ground, push them back in the ground. Start protecting the trees from deer as soon as they sprout. Use liquid fence or tree shelters. The trees should be moved to their permanent location when they are about a foot tall. If you wait longer it will just be more difficult to move them due to the fact that they make roots very quickly. Normal spacing for these trees is 6 ft.
Yes, everything you see in this page is made in America!
Propagating Complete propagation information is included with the cuttings.
My ambition is to help 'green' the world and it can be done if everyone helps. From every package of 3 free cuttings there are potentially 30,000 trees in 2 years and 3 million in 3 years! but I am not going to ship only one package, the plan is to send at least 5000 of them every year!
Some of you will feel that just propagating them is not enough fun, then grow them (in bags) and when they are about a foot tall, sell them. I sell over 1000 of them every year and I charge $7 for each tree.
While the OP-367 has been used extensively for many years in Phytoremediation projects all over the US by agencies complying with the EPA's requirements to remove dissolved metals from the environment, the homeowner has been kept in the dark about the tree and its benefits, specially to the environment.
Nurseries do not help either. If you ask for a hybrid poplar at any nursery they will tell you they don't carry them. Why? Several reasons: It grows too fast for their 'repeat sales projects'. it is too inexpensive and they cannot make money on it, they know you can get a canopy over your head in only 3 years which you cannot do with a Japanese maple and finally, you can propagate it to no end! That really hurts their profits. The OP-367 grows from Zone 2 in Canada to zone 11 in the Texas Panhandle.
After you plant the trees outside, they need very little encouragement to grow. They will be happy if you just give them water every other week for the first year, and happier if you fertilize them every month or so They will look their best with 48 inches of rain yearly but it will get by with only 22 inches. They will require no attention at all next year.They can be cut down at any time (any season) and will resprout from the stumps!
My trees here in PA - I have 10 trees that I use for cuttings- (You can come and see them) grow from the stump 16 ft. in one year. I cut them down every year to about 4" from the ground. The point I am trying to get across is that the more you trim them, the more they grow.
I sold many of these trees to homeowners who just wanted to have a quick living fence or quick shade... well, after 3 years they changed their minds and decided to keep the trees. These trees have something that makes you like them...
 7-year-old OP-367 in Northern Mississippi. The lady under the tree, Debbie. |
5-year-old OP-367 trees in Batavia NY |
You get the following:
3 OP-367 cuttings
3 grow bags
Planting and propagation information.
Please do ask me to make changes to that, the envelopes are filled months in advance,
I just take your donation letter, cut off your name and address, tape it to the envelope and mail it.
|
Testimonial Wow Frank, this is a huge idea! If everyone takes part we really CAN have cleaner air and a greener planet. Thank you so much for my free cuttings. Its unbelievable how one little tree can grow so fast. I received my free cuttings in November and by January they're already almost a foot tall (10"). I cant wait to see how well they do this summer! Thanks!
Trisha
|