Hybrid Poplar Plantings On Strip-Mine Sites in Pennsylvania

While we were able to demonstrate that various species of trees and shrubs would survive and grow on strip-mine lands, we were not satisfied with the results on some of the "poorest" sites. In an attempt to find a more suitable tree, we tried the hybrid poplars. The story would not be complete without briefly outlining the history of these fine trees and the contribution that Ernie Schreiner has made in developing the particular hybrids that are now so widely planted in the coal mining areas of eastern United States and in foreign countries around the world. In 1924, he joined a project devoted to the production of a fast-growing hybrid poplar. After crossing a large number of exotic and native species, the progenies were screened for rooting ability and juvenile growth (three years in a nursery). From these initial selections, field plantings were established in a number of locations and clones were distributed to a number of cooperators. By the time we became interested in trials of hybrid poplars in the late 1950's, we could already be assured of nearly 100 percent rooting of cuttings and satisfactory growth on "poplar sites." What we didn't know was how these clones would perform on our low pH sites.

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Author(s): W. G. "Turk" Jones

Publication: Tree Improvement and Genetics - Northeastern Forest Tree Improvement Conference - 1972