How to Plant White Poplar? Latest Planting Technique Tutorial
White poplar, also known as white poplar or silver poplar, is a deciduous tree of the genus Populus in the willow family (Salicaceae). It has extremely strong survival ability; wherever there is loess along big roads and beside field ridges, it can be found. Its trunk is slender and upright, reaching a height of 20 m. It can be used as firewood, for making furniture, as roof purlins and ridgepoles, and for making farm tools. It has extremely high cultivation value. Let us take a look at white poplar planting techniques together below!
Cultivation Value of White Poplar
White poplar has very strong adaptability, a tall tree form, and silvery-white leaves that sway in the breeze and have a special shimmering effect under sunlight. Its appearance is upright and clean, and it has a certain ornamental value. It can be used as a shade tree, a street tree, planted in clumps on lawns, and can also be used as a tree species for sand fixation, soil conservation, rock and embankment protection, and afforestation of barren sandy land. In addition, it also has medicinal value. The sap extracted from white poplar (containing salicylic acid) can relieve pain and fever. White poplar bark has the effects of dispelling wind, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, and eliminating phlegm, and treats wind arthralgia, beriberi, blood stasis from falls and injuries, dysentery during pregnancy, toothache, mouth sores and other conditions.
Growth Habits of White Poplar
White poplar likes light, is not shade-tolerant, and is resistant to severe cold, with no frost damage at minus 40 degrees. It tolerates arid climates, but not damp heat; when cultivated in the south, it is prone to pests and diseases, and the main trunk is often curved and shrub-like. It tolerates poor light alkaline soil and soil with a salt content below 0.4%, but grows poorly in heavy clay soil. It is deep-rooted, with a well-developed root system, strong soil-binding ability, and strong root sprouting. It is highly resistant to wind, pests and diseases, and can live for more than 90 years.
Site Selection for White Poplar
Selecting afforestation land suitable for poplar growth is the basic condition for achieving fast growth and high yield of poplar. Poplar is a fast-growing species among deciduous broadleaf trees, and grows best on alluvial soil that is deep, loose, fertile, moist and well drained, on flat terrain or with a slope below 15°, with an effective soil layer thickness greater than 0.7 m, and on plots with irrigation conditions. As for soil texture, light loam and sandy loam are best, medium loam is second, and Chinese white poplar can grow on relatively light or heavy soil. The suitable groundwater level for growth should be around 1.5 m, and during the growing season the groundwater level should be below 1 m. Soil nutrient content should be relatively high, with a minimum requirement of organic matter content greater than 0.4%. Soil pH 6 to 8, soil salt content below 0.1%, and gravel content below 20%.
Land Preparation and Afforestation of White Poplar
Land preparation is carried out before the soil freezes. Level the land according to the terrain, carry out full-site preparation by mechanical full ploughing with a ploughing depth of more than 30 cm, or partial preparation in strips and reverse-slope terraces, then dig planting holes 80 cm square, keeping topsoil and subsoil in separate piles when digging. For afforestation land with good site conditions, fast growth, and varieties with larger crowns, when cultivating large-diameter timber, the density should be smaller. For poorer site conditions, when selecting varieties with straight trunk form and narrower crowns and cultivating short-rotation stands, the density can be greater. For pure stands, a row spacing of 2×4 m, 3×4 m, 4×5 m, 4×8 m is suitable, while on plains using agroforestry compound management, a spacing of 1×2×12 m, 1.5×2×8 to 10 m is suitable.