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cfrohman

How to Overwinter a tulip poplar sapling?

cfrohman
9 years ago

Hi everyone,

At the start of Spring I ordered a 4' tulip poplar tree from an online company. It came in a ~1.5 ft diameter black plastic pot and rapidly died back before I had a chance to get it in the ground.

On a whim, I sawed off the top of the tree all the way down about 6" above the pot soil line. Surprisingly, it sprouted side branches out of the remaining stub of a trunk. Now, it has several very thin branches and many leaves (which are just beginning to change color). The branches are about the diameter of a pencil (or in some cases slightly larger).

What should I do with this "sapling" to protect it over the winter? I have a storm cellar as a potential option. The basement itself is heated, but if I put the pot a few steps below the cellar's opening to outside, It would still be very cold (close to freezing in the winter months). However, it would receive no sunlight.

What is preferable? This or planting the pot itself in the ground? I have had very bad luck with bare-root trees in the past so I would prefer not to go that route.

Thanks for any advice!
Best,
Charlie

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