Tried Aspen?

ghues

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Thanks for the pic's Graham. Yours is nice and healthy, especially when you compare the leaves! Have you had to battle fungus or any particular critters with this one?

Also, how does it handle trimming and cutting back? Back-budding characteristics...etc?

Hi Dan,
Some of the leaves do have some discoloration (fungus perhaps) but there are only a few of them (compared to the natives ones nearby) so they get cut off, I haven't noticed any bug issues yet.
Over the years I haven't done much with it really, just let it grow and cut off the strong elongated growth in spring which forces it to send out new growth at base of branches (axillary buds) but I haven't noticed any true back budding (adventitious buds) after said treatment.
I've found a great grove of them close by so next year I'm going to take a bunch of cuttings which will hopefully turn into a Aspen grove/forest.
Cheers
Graham
 

dkraft81

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Graham,

Thanks for the info. I definately plan on collected one or two next spring. I have a few places scouted out here in colorado. Im hoping they will collect easy because there are not many mature trees in the immediate area. We will see though.
 

apolito

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Aspen report from Portland, OR

Portland is not far above sea level and aspens grow well here... A seedling even volunteered in my yard and grew several feet tall before mysteriously blighting off.

Anyway, my buddy and I collected some aspens in Idaho. His two had few or NO roots; mine had a few more than his but not a solid rootball by any stretch. We both put them in 100 percent pumice and into a heavily misted environment through summer. Long story short: His two went crazy and mine did OK although it seems to have caught up growth-wise to his now. I will say this: The tree with NO roots managed to outperform the other two the first year. Go figure.

Anyway, they are disposed to losing branches but I'm guessing that with proper care (probably heavy feeding) and controls back-budding can be forced. Mine has been in its pot for about two years now and has sent some clones out the drain holes! But not too much at soil level, oddly enough.

All three trees are heavily contorted; it's as if the clone they all belonged to had a contorting gene.

My concern is how to keep the leaves from spotting and looking ugly. I got that this year; it would be nice to have pristine golden leaves quaking in the fall breeze.
 
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dkraft81

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I know here in colorado some of the mature landscaped trees will get black spots on them (im guessing its blight) and with a year or two they are completely dead.

Im curious about the spots on your leaves, how much sun are your tress getting. Im wondering if they are like maples and need some protection from the sun when they are in a pot.

Dusty
 

Dan W.

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All of mine looked about like this, granted it was only collected this spring. The dormant spray is a great idea!

20131002_131536_zps257087ca.jpg
 

dkraft81

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Ive seen that look on aspen leaves lots before, not sure what causes that. The spots on the lanscaping trees look more like spots all over the surface of the leaf. It is usually accompanied by pale yellow leaves. Here is a picture I found.
197.jpeg
 

dkraft81

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So I found this nasty twisted up aspen last friday on a collecting trip. There is a lot of dead on it right now, but im going to let it finish leafing out before I trim it off. Some of the dead will stay to add to the character of the tree.
 

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Cypress

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I love quaking aspen. Have not tried them for bonsai, and probably won't. Just one thing you should be aware if you pursue this species is that is naturally very short lived. Yes, while colonies of aspen can be much older, single trees average 70-100 years. It is a 'pioneer' species. When there is a disturbance in the forest and a clearing opens up, aspen will be some of the first trees growing, and growing fast. I'm honestly not sure, or can't speak form experience, on how this translate to bonsai. But I have heard of others having issues with pioneer type species such as random branches dying off, as a couple people mentioned in this thread already for this species. So, just thinking out loud, if you work with this species I would think you should be prepared to have to rebuild branch structure constantly and it will most likely be dead by the time you try to pass it down to your grandchildren, even if you do everything right.
 

dkraft81

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I am definitely aware of the short lived nature of the species. I figured though I would give it a shot anyways. Nothing ventured nothing gained right?
 

wireme

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This one could be worth a try eh?

In an area I don't have permission to collect, possibly private land too, otherwise it would certainly be in my yard now.

I'll look into it for next year.
 

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justBonsai

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Andy Smith at Golden Arrow Bonsai had success collecting these in recent years and sells them on his site and at shows.

70-100 years is still plenty of time for me and would definitely grow them if not for my hot climate.
 

dkraft81

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I've collected a few more now with mixed success. The key is finding them on their own roots.
 

ghues

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The ones here root like crazy........I find suckers from roots and cut off that root from main tree, next spring it's ready to be dug up.
 

RKatzin

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Has anyone tried growing these as a colony instead of an individual tree? I started one about four years ago, but had to leave it in the ground when I moved. I planted two trees about six feet apart and in two seasons the roots had converged and a small forest sprang up between the two trees. My plan was to cut out a piece of roots and make a forest planting. I never got to finish the work and haven't gotten around to starting another project, but I still think it is the way to go with the tree. They do very well here in the SW Oregon climate, inland anyway. I can't say for the coastal side of the mountain.
 

ghues

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Has anyone tried growing these as a colony instead of an individual tree? I started one about four years ago, but had to leave it in the ground when I moved. I planted two trees about six feet apart and in two seasons the roots had converged and a small forest sprang up between the two trees. My plan was to cut out a piece of roots and make a forest planting. I never got to finish the work and haven't gotten around to starting another project, but I still think it is the way to go with the tree. They do very well here in the SW Oregon climate, inland anyway. I can't say for the coastal side of the mountain.
The one posted above has shown that once the main tree was root bound it sucked from roots close to the main trunk and surface. Plan is to add more trees this spring that I’ve prepared just beyond the fence.
 

jeanluc83

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What are the thought on growing aspin as a forest? I'm thinking of starting on one the spring. They grow like weeds at my parents.

Would it be better to collect next spring then combine into a forest or creat the forest at collection?
 
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