Aspen or Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Quaking Aspen, also known as aspen poplar, trembling aspen, golden aspen, and mountain aspen, is considered among the best of the poplars. This tree gets its name from the fact that the leaves tremble with the slightest breeze. Their flattened stems offer little or no resistance to the wind. Widely planted over the United States, it has attractive gray or whitish bark on slender trunks that set off attractive foliage that moves delicately in the breeze.
The most widely distributed tree in North America, Quaking aspens grow in a tall, columnar form to 35 to 50 feet at maturity in 50 or 60 years. Moderately fast growers, aspens may add 3 or 4 feet of growth each year. The spread of their narrow canopy is usually only 1/3 to 1/2 their height, forming an attractive open, leggy profile.
The quaking aspen has nearly round leaves with slightly pointed tips. They average 1 to 3 inches in diameter and have small rounded teeth along their edges. At first a light, glossy green, they turn a deeper bright green on top, paler below, as they mature. In the fall they turn a gorgeous gold before they drop in September or October.
Quaking Aspen Choices
Erecta is more upright than the species. Pendula is a weeping, broader type that, with staking and training, makes a more interesting landscape tree. It is somewhat smaller than typical aspens.