Poplars are among the turbo growth candidates among native deciduous trees. Her age is quite astonishing for that. Read this article to find out how long you can enjoy a poplar tree.
Poplars can live for hundreds of years
Poplars are for the impatient
If you want to plant a poplar on your property for privacy and wind protection, you have made a good choice. Because in order to achieve the desired effect, you do not have to wait long. Poplars show an enormous growth rate of up to one meter per year. This allows a property boundary to be separated very quickly from the outside. In addition, poplars with their diverse and at the same time light leafy crowns provide a pleasant shade.
Because of their rapid growth, poplars are also very popular as avenue trees on public roads.
Overall, depending on the species, poplars reach a total height of 15 to 45 meters.
To remember:
- Very high growth rate of up to one meter per year
- This makes it well suited for quick property demarcation
- Total height between 15 and 45 meters
How long a poplar donates its shade and wind protection depends primarily on the species.
The age of the individual poplar species
Overall, poplars are among the native deciduous trees with a medium life expectancy. In the wild they get about as old as ash trees or beeches. Of course, when used economically on short-rotation plantations, they are not left to their natural end of life, but felled and used after about a quarter of their normal lifespan.
Most poplar species can live between 100 and 300 years.
The black poplar is probably the most persistent candidate. Their gnarled, mighty appearance, which is somewhat reminiscent of the Methuselah of European deciduous trees, the pedunculate oak, fits in well with this. There are examples of black poplars that are 300 years old. The species reaches an impressive 30 meters in height under favorable site conditions.
Popular for its ethereal scent, the balsam poplar can also grow up to 80 cm per year, reaching around 15 to 20 meters in total. It doesn't get quite as old as the black poplar, but only 100-150 years.
Even the well-known aspen, the aspen, stays a little smaller and doesn't grow as old as the black poplar. It reaches a height of around 20 metres, and more in good locations. She has reached the end of her life after about 100 years.