White Poplar “alba”

[Bonsaiforest]

Hi picked up this stock from a local nursery yesterday. I was keen to take it home as the bark is a beautiful silver colour with an interesting pattern.
Although the top third of main trunk has died back it still has a heap of other branches, which one to choose after the chop I’m just not sure.
Will poplars bud back if cut back to stubs hoping for new branches to emerge so that I can then wire into to create more movement instead of being so leggy.
As I have never worked with poplar before, what is the best time to remove branches to create back budding & best time of year to root prune.
Scratched the surface and it doesn’t really have any nebari but I should be able to create by layering down the track. Was thinking of getting the new leader and initial styling complete first.
Any guidance as this species is all new to me would be great.
Photos below, please don’t be discouraged as it looks pretty messy at the moment…..!!! Can only improve with a little work and time.

[shibui]

I suspect all the trunks on that tree give you the answer about whether it back buds. I suspect those are all as a result of the original trunk die back.
Poplars normally grow as a mass of vertical branches. They just don't seem to be able to help themselves growing new shoots all over, even without being chopped. New buds will probably only come from nodes where leaves or branches once grew.
So, even though I've never grown a white poplar, I'd be confident you can cut to your heart's content and be sure of good response.

There's probably no real 'best' time to prune or trim roots. Root prune any time there's no leaves but knowing how easy poplar roots I'd say you could probably get away with light root pruning almost any time of year. I'd be root pruning close to spring before growth if I had a choice.
Not sure about pruning. Birch, which I feel are a little similar, often die back if pruned in winter so summer pruning is preferred for birch.
If you have no other info I'd try major pruning after the new leaves have fully opened in late spring.

[Bonsaiforest]

Thanks Shibui as always very grateful… Cheers !!!

[GavinG]

White poplar grow madly in the ground - World Domination seems to be the general aim - but they haven't proved robust in the confines of a pot, for me. They seem to Fade and Decline after just a couple of years. By all means prove me wrong...

Keep us posted,

Gavin