Why Hybrid Poplar?
While kenaf and miscanthus have potential use as fiber sources for certain applications, hybrid poplar has received the most interest regionally, because these short-rotation trees are grown more like an agricultural crop than a traditional forest species. In the Pacific Northwest, work with hybrid poplar began at the University of Washington and by the Crown Zellerbach Corporation in the 1960’s. There are currently approximately 30,000 acres in production on the well-drained soils of the lower Columbia River and over 20,000 acres under drip irrigation near Hermiston, with smaller commercial plantings in Malheur County and the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Hybrid poplar is normally grown on 8-15 year harvest rotations under intensive management. It is easily propagated vegetatively by inserting simple cuttings of year-old wood into the ground in early spring. The cuttings generally root and grow rapidly, up to 11 ft per year under ideal conditions. Since hybrid poplar is initially very
