Poplars?

Do poplars serve the wildlife in any way? Food? I don't think I really need anymore deciduous trees for shelter but I do want to plant food trees.

Lots of insects feed on the leaves (along with willows and oaks, they're among the best trees for insect diversity), and that of course in turn attracts insect-eating birds. They are also fast-growing and short-lived, so creating large volumes of dead wood in a fairly short time, so ideal for woodpeckers (but also, inevitably, a safety risk close to buildings and roads).

Deer will also eat the foliage and bark on young trees, which can make establishing them difficult.

Resin

In our area they are great lightening rods. They are very short lived here, and I planted them. Still, they do serve the purposes Resin tells us about.. Once they start declining, they become homes for predators (hawks), and the woodpeckers love that weak, soft wood (so I get to watch them). After I planted the poplars down one side of a rural property, another person built a home nearby, and the power company put power lines nearby. So long, poplars. They just come along and trim off the limbs that may affect their lines. I love imminent domain. I'm not really unhappy - they served a purpose.

Poplar leaves moving in the breeze create the sound of running water. kt

I would have planted them away from the house but my parents think that dead wood serves no purpose, even though I tell them otherwise and showed them the woodpeckers, and cut them down. :(

We had a crested woodpecker on a dead tree a couple of years ago and it was gorgeous. But they cut down that tree and the other dead ones.

I forgot to say that I like the way that dead trees look. I mean when they're mixed in with live trees. But maybe it's just because I know that they're so important.

This message was edited Jan 16, 2008 4:17 PM

Ruffed Grouse will eat the buds of poplars. Some people manage stands of poplar for this purpose and cut them down from time to time to promote regrowth of suckers with more accessible buds.

David

That reminds me, I've several times seen Waxwings eating poplar pollen catkins in spring (that's Bohemian Waxwings, I don't know if Cedar Waxwings also do so). Presumably the immature pollen is rich in protein/nutrients.

Resin

I second David's remarks about grouse. It is folk wisdom in the area where our cabin is in northern Minnesota: where there are young poplar stands, there are grouse.

To the best of my knowledge, we don't have grouse here or Bohemian Waxwings. We have cedar waxwings (they LOVE pokeweed berries) and the only pheasant we have are Ring-Necked Pheasant and wild turkeys. I think that's pretty cool but haven't seen them. Except I think I may have seen a single turkey once...

I grew up in poplar forests in Michigan and they were wonderful. Source of food for browsers, roost and food for Grouse, they were one of the first additions to the mono-cultures of midwest forests. Where I grew up, in my lifetime the sandy soils became enriched with carbonaceous humus. This enhanced the forest floors, created a diverse culture of under-story plants, animals and microculture. Oh yes and made my childhood a pleasure.

I guess I'll have to get some then!

Beware of the joy of runners and taking over a garden area. I don't have that with my Quaking Aspen but in you area that could be a problem. I love the groups of monoculture poplar. So many to choose from.