Notes and Observations: Yellow-Poplar Seedlings Respond to Soil Temperature

Height growth of 1-year-old yellow-poplar seedlings increased with soil temperature and moisture during the first growing season after transplanting. Mulches were used to reduce evaporation and to warm or cool the soil compared to bare soil. Seedlings mulched with green or black polyethylene were in warm, moist soil and grew 12.8 and 12.2 inches, respectively, while those mulched with hay were in cool, moist soil and grew 8.4 inches compared to 7.6 inches in bare soil. Significantly more mulched seedlings, 94 percent compared to 79 percent unmulched, survived the first summer.