Populus tremuloides
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Tree
• Sunlight: Sun to part shade
• Soils: Dry to Moist
• Bloom Time: Small catkins in spring
• Size: 40-80 feet in height and 10-20 foot spread
Quaking aspen has many stunning ornamental features, such as bright yellow/golden fall foliage, and distinctive white bark with grayish black “eyes.” Like other aspens, the leaves rustle wildly in the wind. This is because the leaves of aspen trees feature a flattened petiole, the stem that attaches leaves to twigs. This petiole allows the leaf to flex more easily with the wind, preventing wind damage during intense storms.
Garden Companions
Teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens), Golden Groundsel (Packera aurea)
Nature Benefits
• Larval host to the great ash sphinx moth (Sphinx chersis), eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) and viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus).
Native Habitat
Forest edges, shrublands and thickets.