# Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)

> Fremont cottonwood, Populus fremontii: its height and zones, when it flowers and fruits, how fast it grows, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/fremont-cottonwood/

![A large Fremont cottonwood with a full green crown in a sandy desert wash below rocky hills](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/fremont-cottonwood-1000.jpg?v=5d045399 "Fremont cottonwoods in a wash at sunrise at Cottonwood Springs in Joshua Tree National Park, California. It has a lifespan of more than 130 years.")
*Photo: Emily Hassell, National Park Service, [Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFr%C3%A9mont's_cottonwoods_%28Populus_fremontii%29_at_Cottonwood_Springs_%2851164224341%29.jpg) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFr%C3%A9mont's_cottonwoods_%28Populus_fremontii%29_at_Cottonwood_Springs_%2851164224341%29.jpg))*

Large tree, 40 to 80 feet where planted, zones 3 to 9; full sun; average or wet ground.

We do not grow Fremont cottonwood, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

## At a glance

| Fact | Fremont Cottonwood |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Arizona cottonwood, Alamo cottonwood, western cottonwood, Gila cottonwood, Macdougal cottonwood |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 40 to 80 where planted; up to 115 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 3 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, erosion control |
| Flowers | February to May |
| Fruit | Capsules, February to June |
| First crop | 5 to 10 years |
| Pollination | Separate male and female trees. Fremont cottonwoods are male or female trees, so a female bears seed only with a male nearby. The wind carries the pollen. |
| Lifespan | Can live 130 years or more, and the oldest dated one was at least 124. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Planting season | Fall. The NRCS plant guide sets dormant poles, rootless saplings, out from November to February. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Stream banks and floodplain forests |
| Native in | 7 states |

Fremont cottonwood is native in 7 states: [Arizona](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AZ), [California](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CA), [Colorado](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CO), [Nevada](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NV), [New Mexico](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NM), [Texas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TX) and [Utah](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=UT). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from the Fire Effects Information System, the NRCS plant guide, the Wildflower Center and the Woody Plant Seed Manual.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=fremont-cottonwood): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=fremont-cottonwood): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=fremont-cottonwood&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=fremont-cottonwood): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=fremont-cottonwood): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=fremont-cottonwood): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=fremont-cottonwood): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=fremont-cottonwood:5): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=fremont-cottonwood): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=fremont-cottonwood): the tree age calculator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=fremont-cottonwood): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Bitternut Hickory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/bitternut-hickory/index.html.md) (*Carya cordiformis*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 4 to 9. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Nuttall Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/nuttall-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus texana*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 5 to 9. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Durand Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/durand-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus sinuata*): large tree, 50 to 75 feet, zones 5 to 9. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Sugarberry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/sugarberry/index.html.md) (*Celtis laevigata*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 5 to 10. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Willow Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/willow-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus phellos*): large tree, 40 to 75 feet, zones 5 to 9. Shares stream banks and floodplain forests in the wild.
- [Every companion of Fremont cottonwood in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=fremont-cottonwood)

## Read from

Its figures come from the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, Oregon State University's Landscape Plants, Cal Poly's SelecTree, the Wildflower Center, Calscape, the Jepson eFlora and the International Tree-Ring Data Bank.