Tulip Trees

• Common names: Tulip Tree, Tulip Poplar, Yellow Poplar
• Latin name: Liriodendron tulipifera
• Sold as: Bareroot standards, 6/8 and 8/10cm girth. Pot-grown, 175/200cm tall in a 10 litre pot
• Mature size: More than 12m tall and 8m wide. Commonly 30m in Britain
• Time to full size: 20 to 50 years
• Flowers: Tulip-shaped, 4cm, yellowish-green marked with orange, in summer on a mature tree
• Autumn colour: Butter-yellow
• Position: Sun or partial shade. Exposed or sheltered
• Soil: Lime-free: acid to neutral clay, loam or sand, moist but well-drained. Not chalk
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

The Tulip Tree is a big, stately tree with leaves of a shape no other tree has, butter-yellow autumn colour, and green and orange flowers like tulips once it is mature. It needs a lime-free soil and plenty of room, and commonly reaches 30 metres in Britain.

Tulip Trees

The Tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, is a big, stately tree with exotic flowers that are generously carried on even the lowest branches. The leaves are a unique shape, with four points and blunt head; they also turn a clean, deep yellow in autumn. The cup shaped, pale green petals are dashed with egg-yolk orange and the inner parts of the flower are like a tulip, but bigger and more prominent. Tulip trees take many years to begin flowering.
It's not a tree for a small garden, but we really recommend it if you have the space. It's suitable for inner city planting.

See our full range of trees.

Growing Tulip Trees
These trees need a lime-free soil, and like it deep, rich and on the moist side. In the wild, they often grow next to water.
Your trees will reach about 30 metres in Britain.

Liriodendron tulipifera is native to Eastern USA. In warm, sunny Florida, tulip trees have been recorded as tall as 58 metres, but they won't get that big in our climate. The first trees were brought to Britain during the 1600s, probably by John Tradescant the Younger.

Planting Companions

The Tulip Tree is one of a set of American trees for autumn colour on lime-free soil. Worplesdon Sweet Gum and Pin Oak are the other two. Browse our large garden and parkland trees and our trees for ornamental interest. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge?

Ashridge has sold trees since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025. Your Tulip Tree comes bareroot, lifted while dormant, or pot-grown for planting in any month. Bareroot trees are guaranteed for 12 months, and so is a potted tree delivered leafless between November and March.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long before a Tulip Tree flowers?

Many years. It flowers once it is mature, in summer, and the flowers are 4cm across and often high in the crown. Buy it for the leaf and the autumn colour, and treat the flowers as a bonus.

How big does it grow?

It grows more than 12 metres tall and more than 8 metres wide, in 20 to 50 years. In Britain it commonly reaches 30 metres. It is not a tree for a small garden.

Will it grow on chalk?

No. Grow it in lime-free soil. It wants an acid to neutral clay, loam or sand that is moist but well-drained.

Is it a Poplar?

No. Americans call it the Tulip Poplar and the Yellow Poplar, and both names are in use, but it is a relative of the Magnolias.

Where should you plant it?

In sun or partial shade, with room to grow, and not in a frost pocket, because a late frost can catch the young leaves. Some shelter helps in the first years.

When are the trees delivered?

Bareroot trees are delivered from November to April, while they are dormant. Pot-grown trees can be delivered and planted in any month when you find them in stock.