It is always good to consider adding a hardwood tree to your landscape if space permits. Choosing just one tree can be difficult, but if push came to shove, tulip poplar would be at the top of my list.

It also is called yellow poplar, tuliptree or tulip magnolia, and though it is commonly called a poplar tree, this tree is in the magnolia family.

I love trees! Our family has a 65-acre tree farm full of them, growing trees, bees and maple syrup.

For interest, hardiness in our Ohio climate and service to native and nonnative pollinators, the tulip poplar is hard to beat.

But take note — tulip poplars are one of the largest hardwoods in North America, ranging in height at maturity from 50 to 100 feet, with much larger trees found in some sites. This is a statement tree for a large area.

This North America native has flowers like no other — bold flowers considered “tulip-like” in their shape, which is typical of the magnolia family. The flowers have six green-yellow sepals with an orange base, and are surrounded by leaves.

Blooming in late May or June, the large, cupped flowers are a major nectar and pollen source for both native (mason bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, etc.) and nonnative (European honeybee) pollinators.

Tulip poplars are also one of the host plants to the beautiful tiger swallowtail caterpillars (Papilio glaucus) and the only host plant for caterpillars of the tuliptree silkmoth (Callosamia angulifera).

The leaves are interesting as well, forming a large square shape. Leaves are alternate, simple, palmately veined, with the square shape having four lobes and a smooth margin. The top edge has a tulip shape to them.

There are some drawbacks of this tree.

Those large, cupped flowers eventually drop as do the tree’s cone-shaped fruit clusters, so there is some cleanup needed when this happens. Seed dispersal usually takes place in October and November. Still, the benefits of this tree shine brighter.

Another wonderful aspect of tulip poplars is their color display in fall. During summer, their striking green canopy provides an abundance of shade. Come fall, that brilliant green turns a vibrant orange-yellow color.

Tulip trees grow best in moist sites and full sun. The wood of this tree is used commercially for interior finishes, furniture and even musical instruments.

Tulip poplars can grow to great heights, but thankfully, there is now a smaller cultivar perfect for smaller landscapes. The cultivar, L. tulipifera ‘Ardis’, the little leaf tulip poplar, gets to 40 to 60 feet tall with a canopy of about 25 feet.

It works wonderfully in compact landscapes. According to North Carolina Extension, more compact forms of this tree are expected.

Gorgeous flowers, beautiful foilage both summer and fall, and being a pollinator playground, what’s not to love about the stately tulip poplar?

For details and photos of this tree, go to http://go.osu.edu/tuliptree .

Nutter is an Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener Volunteer intern in Mahoning County.