Aspen (Populus tremula)

Aspen (Populus tremula)

Populus tremula, "The quaking aspen light and thin" of a 17th century poem, only lives for 50 years. Their leaves tremble in even the lightest wind and make a noise like a "rustling whisper".

Aspen's habit means they are often associated with a rich understory of wildflowers. They support over 90 insects and are the food plant of the Green Hairstreak. Aspen do best in cooler climes and were among the first species to re-establish themselves in Britain in the post-glacial period.

Like other Populus, they grow extremely quickly and make a good screening tree, but oddly seem not to be much planted. Aspen has separate male and female plants, which might have something to do with it, or it could be that people are nervous about younger plants, which can be susceptible to drought.

Plants For Sale

Like all our native trees and hedging, our aspen trees have UK origin and provenance - that's to say they're grown here using seed from trees here. We offer 2 year old 60-100cm plants in multiples of 5.

Suppliers: RV Roger, British Hardwood Trees

Please note that standard sizes relate to tree girths in cm. See our planting and size guide for details and tips on planting Aspen trees.

Our Aspen trees are all bare root, and are consequently available for delivery from November until March. During the lifting season there may be up to two weeks delay between placing the order and dispatching, due to weather conditions or pressure of orders, which are dealt with in date sequence. Orders placed for Aspen between March and October are confirmed for dispatch from November.