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Eastern cottonwood
Habit (mature) · Laurent Bélanger / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Limited coverage
Eastern cottonwood
Populus deltoides
One of the largest and fastest-growing native hardwoods of eastern and central North America — a streambank and bottomland tree reaching 50-80 feet (occasionally far more) with a broad, open-rounded crown. Its glossy triangular (deltoid) leaves with coarse marginal teeth and flattened petioles flutter and clatter in the wind, and female trees release the cottony seed fluff that gives the tree its name. Fast, tough, and tolerant of drought and urban conditions, but messy and weak-wooded — Missouri Botanical Garden calls it generally inappropriate for ornamental or urban use, better suited to rural lowspots and stream corridors.
Native: 44 US states + 6 CA provinces
Review: Source-backed
Climate fit: broad (100/100)
Structure
Focal point
Light
Full sun
Water
Consistent moisture
Mature size
600-960" tall · 480" apart
Hardy in zones
2a-9b
brutally cold to frosty winters
Summer heat range
Cool-Extreme
cool to extreme summers Interim Plotwright tier until the plant AHS range is authored.
Native in Illinois
Yes
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A documented larval host for the Eastern tiger swallowtail and 5 other species — caterpillars feed on its foliage before becoming the next generation.
Wildlife relationships
Cold hardiness
Now
Zone 6b
USDA
Chicago, IL · 1991-2020 average annual coldest day
Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer
Well-suited
2050
Zone 7b
Plotwright
Your zone + climate-model shift · SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry)
Well-suited
In plain terms: cold winters — coldest nights typically around -3°F.
Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.
Heat tolerance
Loading current AHS heat-zone and plant heat-fit data at your coordinates…
Sources & citations
Cite this page
For lesson plans, articles, or research that uses this page. To cite a single upstream fact instead, use its specific source listed below.
Plotwright. (2026, May 17). Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides). Retrieved 2026, June 5, from https://plotwright.garden/plants/eastern-cottonwood
Sources for every fact
Every fact on this page traces to a source. 18 fields cited18 source-backed.
Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder
Botanical research database
Backs 17 fields
Identity
Summary
Plant type
Light
Moisture
Hardiness
Heat zone
Size
Spacing
Habit
Design roles
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Growth stages
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Wikimedia Commons
Photo · CC BY-SA 4.0
Backs 1 field
Image
Community photos
The photos above are our reviewed reference set, curated for accuracy.
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