Cottonwood Seedlings Best for Sites Subject to Flooding

Cuttings rather than seedlings are generally used as planting stock of eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) and are very successful on most sites. But research at the Southern Hardwoods Laboratory shows that rooted seedlings may be preferable on areas likely to be flooded after cottonwoods are planted and before they begin height growth. In 1964 a study comparing the two types of stock was begun on a site furnished by the Crown Zellerback Corp. The area is often flooded by Mississippi River backwaters; immediately after planting it was inundated from mid-March until late May. The planting stock was unrooted cuttings, 20 and 40 inches long and 1-0 nursery seedlings with a top length of 25 inches. Stock of each type was planted in randomized blocks during the dormant season and before flooding. The cuttings were set 15 inches in the ground and the seedlings at the root collar. In addition, 20-inch cuttings were planted the following June after the flood waters had subsided but while the soil was still saturated. Cross-disking between the 10- by 10-foot spaced rows of the plantings during the first growing season. controlled weed growth. Survival and heights of the trees were recorded at the close of each growing season for the first 2 years. Seedlings were the only planting stock that produced satisfactory results (table 1) . At flood time seedling tops were 25 inches above soil, as were the above-soil parts of the 40-inch cuttings. Some of the seedling tops remained above high water. However, both the 40- and 20-inch cuttings sprouted mainly near the base, and water submergence killed much new growth.

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Author(s): Louis C. Maisenhelder, J. S. McKnight

Publication: Tree Planters' Notes - Volume 19, Number 3 (1968)

Volume: 19

Number: 3