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Planting Instructions
Shipping Information
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Description
Why Gardeners Choose Siouxland Cottonwood
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100% Seedless & Cotton-Free: As a certified male clone, it never produces airborne, cottony seed fluffs that choke AC units, gutters, and lawn equipment.
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Ultra-Fast Growth Rate: Adds 3 to 5+ feet of upright vertical growth per season, quickly providing expansive canopy shade and instant scale.
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Natural Living Wind Barrier: Planted in rows or shelterbelts, the dense wood structure dramatically cuts prevailing winter winds and shields topsoil from erosion.
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Severe Soil Tolerance: Thrives effortlessly in alkaline conditions, compacted clays, flood-prone ground, or poorly drained soils where other shade trees fail.
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Superior Rust Resistance: Bred by South Dakota State University to withstand leaf rust and foliage blights that prematurely defoliate wild cottonwoods.
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Lush Canopy & Golden Fall Color: Features glossy triangular (deltoid) leaves that rustle gently in breezes and ignite into luminous golden-yellow foliage every autumn.
Planting & Care
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Light: Full sun (requires at least 6+ hours of direct unfiltered sunlight daily).
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Soil: Highly adaptable; thrives in wet, poorly drained soils, heavy clay, sandy loam, and alkaline conditions.
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Growth rate: Fast; expects 3 to 5+ feet of vigorous growth per year once root systems establish.
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Mature size: 50–70+ feet tall with a wide 30–50-foot spreading canopy.
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Watering: Water deeply and regularly during the first 1–2 growing seasons to establish deep taproots; exceptionally drought-tolerant once established.
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Feeding: Apply a balanced, slow-release 10-10-10 granular fertilizer in early spring just as buds swell during the first three years.
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Pruning: Prune in late winter while fully dormant to establish a strong central leader and remove lower branch angles; avoid heavy summer cuts.
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Special care: Plant at least 35–50 feet away from home foundations, driveways, septic fields, and underground utility pipes to allow aggressive roots room to spread.
Best Uses
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Multi-row rural windbreaks and farm shelterbelts
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Boundary line privacy and dust screens
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Expansive lawn shade tree for large homesteads
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Creek bank stabilization and hillside soil retention
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Wildlife shelter and songbird nesting cover
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Fast-fill moisture absorption for standing water or low runoff swales
Grows Best In
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USDA Zones: 3–9
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Climate notes: Exceptionally hardy; easily withstands sub-zero Midwestern winters, severe gale-force prairie winds, high summer heat, and fluctuating seasonal moisture.
Problem Solved
Pro Tip
Shipping Information
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Shipped as 1–2-foot-tall bare-root field-grown plants, dormant and ready to plant.
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Cannot ship to: ME.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How fast does it grow?
It is one of North America's fastest-growing trees, typically adding 3 to 5+ feet of vertical growth each season under full sun.
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Does it produce messy cotton?
No; 'Siouxland' is an all-male genetic selection that never produces the fluffy seed pods or drifting cotton associated with wild female cottonwoods.
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Is it deer resistant?
Moderate; deer may occasionally nip tender young terminal shoots in their first year, so cage young 1–2 ft whips until they outgrow browsing height.
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Can it grow in dry or clay soil?
Yes; it naturally adapts across a spectrum ranging from wet boggy riverbanks to dense, alkaline prairie clays and dry upland pasture once rooted.
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How tall will it get?
Expect a mature height of 50 to 70+ feet with a broad, rounded canopy spread of 30 to 50 feet.
Planting Instructions
How Your Plants Are Shipped & Care Instructions
To ensure a seamless transition to your garden, please follow the specific steps below based on the type of plant you ordered:
📦 1. Container-Grown Plants
Our container-grown plants are shipped with fully established root systems nestled in premium potting media.
- Unpack & Water Instantly: Carefully remove the protective packaging and check the soil moisture. Give the pot a thorough watering until moisture runs out the bottom drainage holes.
- Acclimation Period: Place your container plant in a sheltered, partially shaded location for 2 to 3 days to help it recover from transit before moving it to full sun.
- Planting Depth: Plant at the exact same depth it was sitting in its shipping container, gently loosening the outer roots if they are encircling the root ball.
- Moisture Control: Keep the soil consistently damp but never soggy for the first few weeks as the roots expand.
🌱 2. Seedling & Liner Bare-Root Plants
Seedlings and liners are young, vibrant plants shipped without pots to make transit highly efficient.
- Immediate Attention: Unpack immediately upon arrival. If you cannot plant them right away, keep the roots moist and store them in a cool, shaded location out of the wind.
- Hydration First: Soak the roots in a bucket of water for 1 to 2 hours right before planting to wake them up.
- Planting: Spread the roots out naturally in the planting hole. Ensure the crown (where the roots meet the stem) sits right at the soil level. Water thoroughly to settle the soil around the roots.
🌾 3. Groundcover Bare-Root Plants
Groundcover bare-root bundles (like Vinca minor or Sedum) are shipped dormant or semi-dormant, ready to take off once in the ground.
- Check Moisture: Open the bundle immediately. The packing material around the roots should be damp. If planting is delayed a day or two, lightly mist the roots to keep them from drying out.
- Soak Before Planting: Soak the root systems in water for about an hour before putting them in the ground.
- Spacing & Depth: Plant them at the same depth they were growing previously, firming the soil gently over the roots to eliminate any air pockets. Water heavily right after planting and keep the area consistently moist until established.
Shipping Information
Orders containing only hard goods generally ship right away
as the inventory allows. Those items ship year-round and generally within one
week.
When ordering plants during fall or spring shipping, we will
set your order for the next available shipping week appropriate for your
location. April and May are our busiest months, and sometimes shipping delays
happen. Plants may be processed later than scheduled or the shipping department may get behind. This is not the norm, but it does sometimes happen. Please bear with us if this happens.
Our bare-root (field-grown) trees and shrubs typically arrive at the facility for shipping in November, December, and January (for fall shipping) and in February, March, April, and May (for spring shipping).
An example of month-by-month shipping would be as follows, as plants are available:
January - zones 9 - 10
February - zones 8 - 10
March - zones 7 - 10
April - zones 6 - 10
May - zones 5 - 9
June - zones 3 - 8
July - zones 3 - 7
August - zones 4 - 7
September - zones 5 - 8
October - zones 5 (some areas) - 9
November - zones 6 (some areas) - 10
December - zones 8 - 10
Reviews
Shipping Rates & Delivery Info
| Order Value Range | Estimated Ground Rate | Estimated Transit Days |
|---|---|---|
| $1.00 – $20.00 | $9.95 | 2–5 business days |
| $20.01 – $50.00 | $15.95 | 2–5 business days |
| $50.01 – $75.00 | $19.95 | 2–5 business days |
| $75.01 – $100.00 | $22.95 | 2–5 business days |
| $100.01 – $150.00 | $26.95 | 2–5 business days |
| $150.01 – $200.00 | $35.95 | 2–5 business days |
| $250.01 – $300.00 | $55.95 | 2–5 business days |
| $300.01 – $350.00 | $65.95 | 2–5 business days |
| $350.01 – $500.00 | $89.95 | 2–5 business days |
| $500.01 – $700.00 | $129.95 | 2–5 business days |
| $700.01 – $1000.00 | $175.95 | 2–5 business days |
Shipping live plants
Live plants need more care in transit than a book or a pair of shoes. Our packing and shipping schedule is built to get them to you healthy.
- We ship Monday–Wednesday only, so plants never sit in a warehouse over a weekend.
- Order by Tuesday at noon CT to ship the same week. Later orders ship the following Monday–Wednesday.
- Transit time is 2–5 business days to the contiguous 48 states.
- You'll get a tracking email as soon as your order leaves our greenhouse.
We no longer ship orders to Hawaii, APO/FPO addresses, Puerto Rico, or other addresses outside the continental United States.
Alaska orders: Most plant orders going to Alaska can be sent through Priority Mail. We will estimate shipping charges and additional charges may apply. Shipping FedEx and UPS to Alaska addresses is very costly, so if we can't ship via Priority Mail, we don't ship. If you have questions concerning an order going to Alaska, please contact us at info@greenwoodnursery.com.

