Native Plants
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Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
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Tuesday - June 02, 2009
From: Medway, MA
Region: Northeast
Topic: Trees
Title: Do all tuliptrees (Liriodendron tulipifera) flower?
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Do all tulip trees flower? We planted a baby one about 5 years ago and its grown considerably however it has never flowered. Is that normal? Thank you!ANSWER:
Yes, your Liriodendron tulipifera (tuliptree or yellow-poplar) should produce flowers, but I'm afraid you are going to have to wait a bit longer. According the US Forest Service they produce their first blooms at 15 to 20 years of age. You can count on blooms for a long time after they start, though, since they may continue blooming for 200 years. Here is a little more information from the Floral Genome Project.
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