Why Plant Quaking Aspen?
Quaking Aspen will bring a spirit of playfulness to your landscape with its rounded leaves that shimmy and twirl in the slightest breeze. This tall, slender, fast-growing tree will cast dappled shade on your outdoor seating areas in summer and will delight you in fall with a show of luminous yellow foliage. One great landscaping idea is to highlight this tree’s trunk with uplighting, so that its greenish-white, Birch-like bark and trembling leaves may be appreciated even after dusk while you entertain or just relax on your porch or patio.
Quaking Aspen, a.k.a. “White Poplar,” or “Popple,” is North America’s most wide-ranging tree and can be found from coast to coast and from Northern Canada all the way down to the mountains of Central Mexico. This remarkable tree rarely gains new ground by seed, however. Aspen spreads by sending out suckers, which pop up to produce new trees. These trees are all connected by one root system and are genetically identical, so each “colony” is technically a single organism. The largest colony, “Pando” (Latin for “I spread”), in Utah, covers an area the size of 80 football fields! Scientists estimate that the Pando colony has been growing for 80,000 years!
How to use Quaking Aspen in the landscape?
This native tree belongs to the Willow family, and like Willows it’s a great tree for a wildlife-friendly garden. Quaking Aspen feeds many species of butterflies, including the beautiful viceroy. The viceroy’s orange and black markings mimic those of the iconic monarch, thus fooling predators into thinking it tastes as bad as the toxic monarch butterfly. Quaking Aspen looks best planted in groves, which is how this charming native tree grows in the wild, but can also shine as a shade tree in your backyard!
Planting Zones
Hardiness Zone: 2-6
How To Plant Quaking Aspen
Because of its unusual growing habit, Quaking Aspen is probably a little different from other trees you may have grown. To keep it as a single specimen tree, you must be careful to never damage the bark, and you must keep the roots cool with a layer of mulch. Otherwise, the suckering mechanism kicks in. You can keep suckers under control by mowing, though letting them spring up and form a grove is nice, too. Quaking Aspen laughs at cold weather (it grows where temperatures drop below -50°F!), but it isn’t crazy about the hot, humid summers of the Southeast. Plant it in a sunny site with well-drained soil for best results.
How To Water
Water twice weekly for the first 3-5 weeks; then water weekly for the remainder of the year until winter. When you water, water very slowly and very thoroughly. The water needs to reach to the bottom of the root ball and that takes time. Watering needs may be altered due to extreme weather conditions.
How To Fertilize
Incorporate Elements Starter Plant Food granular form into the soil when planting. If planting in spring or summer, start fertilizing late fall using Elements Starter Plant Food granular form on an annual basis each fall. Continue this for the first three years to get your plant well established as it gives your tree the nutrients it needs to produce lush new growth for the following spring.
How To Prune
The best time to prune your Quaking Aspen is going to be when the tree is dormant in late winter to early spring. Pruning is not typically needed unless it is to maintain the shape of the tree.
How Does Shipping Work?
Bower & Branch Trees, the real BIG trees, don’t fit in a box! Our big trees, sizes XL and bigger, require expert delivery and care, that means our extra-large trees are shipped on Bower & Branch trucks. We are the only ones who know how to ship our big and bigger trees and plants with tender loving care. We deliver your trees and plants directly to you. Ask Bower & Branch about planting services – we'd be happy to assist in installation.
*For Big trees and Shrubs, Size XL and bigger: Review our Seasonal Shipping Timelines and Policy here.
Your trees and plants are grown across the United States at various Bower & Branch Growers. Depending on your location, your plant orders may be shipped from various locations. Please expect orders with multiple items to be delivered over a number of days as a result. Orders made up of numerous items or selections will not arrive at your home on the same day.
Shipping Delays:
From time to time, Bower & Branch Growers may determine to delay order shipment based on various factors for plant health. Weather in your region, as well as, where your plants are grown, is always considered when shipping. Extreme weather conditions may delay some or all of your order. Bower & Branch allows our Growers to make final shipping decisions based solely to benefit your trees and plants’ health and success.
How Does Sizing Work?
The size of our trees have nothing to do with the container size like you may find elsewhere–big doesn't mean just height - it’s also vigor, age, and overall health. Other online retailers are going to tell you that a plant is a seven gallon, that means nothing to your tree or plant (or you.)
Our trees for sale online are graded on large, x-large, and even bigger sizes. This is because our trees are sized by their age—the higher the letter, the more mature the tree. The age determines the trees’ overall height, size of the trunk and the overall branch density.
All of these characteristics are what you should be looking for when choosing a tree for immediate impact and instant curb appeal. Our extra-large tree and plant sizes are sure to wow you and your neighbors!
See the size guides below.
