Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Cottonwood trees greeted Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery as they rambled through our Missouri Valley in 1804. These hardy native trees, Populus deltoides, still grace the plains along with their descendants. However, their numbers are on the decline. There are many advantages to native cottonwoods, which have become even more appealing since the spread of Dutch elm disease and Emerald Ash borer. Look at your soil maps to find where yields may be diminished because of salinity. In low-lying wet areas where tile drainage cannot be placed due to topography, consider planting grass and trees through the USDA CRP or EQIP. Here are a few reasons why native cottonwoods are the right choice for these plantings.
Better than hybrids
Hybrid varieties may grow faster but they do not have the longevity of the native cottonwood. The following differentiate native cottonwood Populus deltoides from hybrids.
What about the pesky cotton?
Some find them messy, but really it is just further proof of the superior genetic ability of the native cottonwood tree. They are so prolific that they can even drop small branches with green leaves and colonize bare ground. It’s a chore to clean them up in the yard, but this is an advantage out in the fields on the prairie. Your initial investment of a few trees may return even more in the right conditions.
Invest in the next generation
The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago. The second best time is right now! We all know old farmsteads out on the prairie that are marked by a distinct tree. Plant a majestic cottonwood that will distinguish your land for the next hundred years.
Increase yields
Since you are looking into ordering trees, you are already aware of the tremendous power of trees to prevent soil erosion and increase the crop yield of adjacent land. According to the EPA, weather patterns will get more extreme in North Dakota in the years to come. The native cottonwood thrives in low-lying, wet areas and is also drought resistant. The North Dakota Forest Service reports the cottonwood survives “where few other trees can by producing especially deep, binding roots and fast growing shoots that rise above the floodwaters.”
North Dakota heritage
It was pointed out to me when I was very young that cottonwood leaves never stop rustling, no matter how perfectly still it seems out. The same observation was recorded in a 1911 report to the Secretary of the Smithsonian: “This peculiarity of the foliage of the cottonwood is quite remarkable, so that it is said the air is never so still that there is not motion of cottonwood leaves.” Consider planting native cottonwoods for the next generation of North Dakotans.
