A lone plains cottonwood in full summer leaf on the open prairie

Cottonwood (Bundle of 2) | Spring 2027

$99.99

Reliable shipping

Flexible returns

Ripening

Will it finish before your first hard freeze?

Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)

Disease resistanceResists 1 of 4

Cytospora canker : Susceptible, 2 of 5
Hypoxylon canker : Resistant, 4 of 5
Marssonina leaf spot : Moderate, 3 of 5
Shoot blight : Moderate, 3 of 5

Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.

See it on our native and shade tree disease chart (opens in a new tab)

At a glance: Cottonwood is a cottonwood tree rated hardy to zone 2 in our ratings (winters to -50°F), and dioecious, with separate male and female plants.

Hardy to	Zone 2 to 9. A bare number means the whole of zone 2, colder half included (winters to -50°F). Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator.
Chill hours	About 1,200 hours (950 to 1,450). From published figures. Montana winters give it plenty. In milder climates, make sure your winters average at least this much. Check your chill hours or see our sources.
Pollination	Dioecious - Needs Male and Female. Bloom group 4 of 7 (mid), very early spring here. Cottonwoods are male or female, and these are male trees, so they will never make cotton or seed, which is the point. They shed wind-blown pollen in early spring, offer bees little, and are not orchard pollenizers. Bloom group is our estimate from the variety's origin and relatives. Pollination Charts.
Good for	Shade (8/10), windbreaks and hedgerows (7/10), feeding wildlife (6/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists.
Deer	Sometimes damaged by deer.
What you get	Bare root, 5-6 ft. tall. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

Overview

A large, spreading tree reaching 60 to 90 feet in height and 40 to 60 feet in spread. This native species is found along waterways and wet meadows throughout the Plains states.

Tough and Adaptable

It offers greater drought and alkalinity tolerance than many of the euramericana hybrid poplars. Hardy to zone 2.

Low-Maintenance Bonus

These trees are male, and therefore don’t shed the fuzzy seeds.

These trees are roughly 5 ft. tall

Photos: “Populus deltoides - plains poplar” by Matt Lavin, via Flickr, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0; “Populus deltoides monilifera 443412245” by Jared Lincenberg, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 4.0; “Populus deltoides monilifera” by Matt Lavin, via Flickr, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0; “Populus deltoides - plains poplar” by Matt Lavin, via Flickr, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0; “Populus deltoides monilifera malecatkins” by Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 3.0 us.

Questions we get about Cottonwood

How cold hardy is Cottonwood?

We rate Cottonwood hardy to zone 2, which means winters down to about -50°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.

How many chill hours does Cottonwood need?

About 1,200 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 950 and 1,450. That comes from published figures for this variety. In a cottonwood study, most clones needed about 40 to 60 days near 35°F before extra cold stopped speeding up bud break. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

What is Cottonwood good for?

Our top use scores for Cottonwood are shade (8/10), windbreaks and hedgerows (7/10), feeding wildlife (6/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.

Is Cottonwood disease resistant?

For some diseases, yes. It's resistant to Hypoxylon canker. It holds up moderately well against Marssonina leaf spot and shoot blight. It's prone to cytospora canker. Our native and shade tree disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Will deer eat Cottonwood?

Sometimes. Deer browse Cottonwood now and then, so protect young plants where deer pressure is high.

What arrives, and when does Cottonwood ship?

A dormant bare-root plant, roots wrapped in moist sawdust with a vapor barrier, shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring. Sizes offered: 5-6 ft. tall. We guarantee our plants bud out. Stone fruits can be slow, so if one still has not budded out by August 15, write to us and we credit you for the following spring.