Quaking Aspen
Populus tremuloides
25-30 feet high x 15-20 feet wide
Broad rounded shape
Zone 3
Full Sun
Native to our mountains, aspens are one of the favorite trees of Wyoming homeowners. They are not without fault–they are considered short-lived–but during their life enjoy the nearly pure white bark and, as the Latin name suggests, their leaves tremble at the slightest movement of air. In autumn expect brilliant golden leaves. Aspens are one of the largest living organisms in the world. Almost always, an aspen grove, whether it be just a few scattered trees or tens of thousands, are all clones! You do not need to buy a clump of aspens to get a grove started, they will naturally sucker, creating that grove affect.
Throughout this site, the following are used as guidelines for watering established plants:
These truly xeric plants can live with our 12 inches of natural annual precipitation and only need a winter watering during a multi-year drought, but they will thrive with a monthly watering. Overwatering will kill some of these. These plants are adapted to intermittent deep
watering with soil drying to a depth of a few inches between waterings. Watering frequency may be every couple of weeks during the active growing season and maybe only one winter watering for optimal care. These plants need regular watering somewhat like a bluegrass lawn so that
they never dry to depth in the root system during the active growing season, and need occasional winter watering to prevent root dessication and resultant plant
death. About sizes of our plants:
Sizes indicated with a # are roughly the equivalent in gallonage; so a #2 is about a 2 gallon pot size; b&b stands for balled and burlapped.