Illustration
Tulip Tree
Liriodendron tulipifera
Tulip Tree blooms from May through June.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Tulip Tree
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–9. Expect it to reach about 66 ft tall and 39 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 25 years (not yet checked).
No toxicity note is on file for Tulip Tree. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What this means
Written with AI assistance and not yet checked plant by plant against recorded sources, so treat every fact above as a starting point. Its scientific name was checked against botanical registries, an audit keeps its values consistent with the rest of the library, and a July 2026 review re-read the main facts of every plant then in the library against horticultural authorities without recording a source for each, which is why none of that counts as checked here. The source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open, and a checked plant says so in this row.
When to plant Tulip Tree
Plant Tulip Tree in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 9, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Tulip Tree get?
66 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult39 ftwideSee Tulip Tree in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Tulip Tree
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Tulip Tree about 39 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Tulip Tree to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Good to know about Tulip Tree
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Worth knowing
A magnet for bees, hummingbirds and butterflies, and a prized honey tree: a single young tree can pour out about 3.6 kg of nectar in a season. per NC State and Frontiers
How brittle is the wood?
Fast growth makes soft wood that sheds twigs and small limbs, especially when young, but well-built mature trunks proved wind-firm in Hurricane Hugo. Prune young for structure. per NC State and Florida
Flowers hide up high
The tulip-shaped flowers open high in the canopy and are easy to miss from the ground; a seed-grown tree may not bloom for 15 to 20 years. per NC State
Golden-yellow fall color
In autumn the whole tall canopy turns a clear, showy golden to bright yellow before the leaves drop. per NC State
It drips sticky honeydew
Aphids and scale high in the canopy rain honeydew that grows black sooty mold on cars, decks and plants below. Site it away from patios. per Penn State
Watch for verticillium wilt
Most diseases here are cosmetic (powdery mildew, leaf spots), but the one that can seriously harm the tree is verticillium wilt, which attacks its water-carrying vessels. per Penn State
What pairs well with Tulip Tree
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Joe Pye Weed
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Perennial Sunflower
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in late summer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Ironweed
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in late summer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Passionflower
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; purple against yellow, for contrast.
Eastern Redbud
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; both are North American natives.
Rose of Sharon
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in midsummer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; low at 8 ft, to carpet the ground beneath it.
Switchgrass
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in late summer, extending the bed's season; both are strong pollinator plants, and they feed in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Flowering Cherry
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; a soft color beside the yellow.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.