Tried Aspen?

[Roadkillthebrave]

I saw on this post that y'all were wondering about why Apsens are a pain in the butt, grow in clusters, and pretty much only are content in higher elevations. I have an answer to that. The one thing you need to consider about a tree that grows and a specific altitude is how it has adapted to that Altitude. These trees have a hard time handling "thicker" air. Yes humidity has something to do with it because the higher you go the less humidity you run into. You also have to take into consideration the fact that the air is thinner up there. People have also hard enough time getting oxygen up there so just imagine what the tree is going through trying to produce it.

I haven't done an Aspen yet, I want to, but I'm not set up for what I believe it's going to need. I would suggest a dehumidifier first and foremost. Let the things grow like the should in the sense of letting it make its own grove. The larger pans for the forest would probably be the best for it.

Aspens arent built to handle fungus, insects, and other lichen that is found in lower altitudes. You should seriously look at what grows where they do. If you add any moss to the planter you're setting yourself up for issues if it's not a moss found in higher altitudes as well. I used to live in Colorado and am very familiar with what's up that high and the eco-system that those trees grow in.

 

[M. Frary]

pretty much only are content in higher elevations

Damned polpels are everywhere here. I kill them by the thousands every day.
There are no mountains near here.
They're a junk tree for bonsai because they are simply junk trees.
Most of the ones I cut down are burned to make energy.. They run them through a giant chipper. It sucks 23 inch trees in whole and spits them into a truck. The real nice ones get cut up for pallets.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Aspen
Tend to have coarse growth without fine twigging. When you try to force them to make fine twigs, ramification, they start to make lots of suckers, and the less ramified suckers compete with older trunk for resources from the roots. This becomes an energy balance issue that is beyond majority of bonsai practicioners to cope with. Not that it can't be done, but it is difficult.

Second issue, aspen do form mycorrhizal relationships, I'm not certain how obligatory the relationships are, but the vagaries of life in a bonsai pot makes it difficult to keep mycorrhiza happy.

 

[ghues]

Well despite all the negativity above I’m still enjoying this one. Have a forest behind the house which has groves of them, some small islands/patches of pure aspen but mostly they are mixed with red alder and broadleaf maple. Generally the small groves/islands have one of two matriarchs in the middle and are surrounded but their younger offspring. This makes for great observations of how they grow and the form they take.

I have been able to reduce the leaf size and they can rebound from a summer defoliation. Will add others at the next repot.
A couple photos of the Aspen groves behind the house and the one I have.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

You are getting a fair amount of ramification. Nice.

 

[ghues]

You are getting a fair amount of ramification. Nice.

Here it is two years on.....had to rejuvenate it this spring, so it will sit in the grow box for now. Unfortunately rain knocked off a lot of leaves but what remains is showing some fall colours. This is not a high elevation variety, collected at around 300’ from local forests. A couple more small suckers coming.

 

[ghues]

Haven’t seen these colours before...

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Has anyone had success with air layering these?

 

[andrewiles]

I've heard they are problematic as well, but I threw an interesting one in the car the other day when I was looking for larches. I love the white trunks when they get older.

Here's mine:


Another thing I noticed in the area I was collecting is that the aspen had a flat-top style. I hadn't seen that before. A bit like many BC:

 

[PiñonJ]

Here’s my shohin Aspen. Collected a year-and-a-half ago.

 

[andrewiles]

Hadn't seem this before. Mirai species description: https://bonsaimirai.com/species/quaking-aspen-bonsai

They call out providing plenty of water and keeping the roots cool.

 

[Colorado]

I personally think that aspen may be one of the very best North American deciduous species for bonsai.

I have one that I’ve been growing for 3 years in a container. The leaves and internodes have reduced dramatically and are quite tiny. Responds well to pruning and I’ve been getting some decent ramification. Also responds well to root work including severe root pruning and bare rooting. They are extremely cold hardy. Nice white bark.

What’s not to love?!

 

[andrewiles]

Yeah. I have a few I collected a few years back now. Bare rooted with virtually no root mass. Kept in full sun, including days over 100F right after collection. Then just ignored them. And they're all fine. Zone 8 here, but summer heat is mild.

They do seem to have dieback issues around cuts but other than that they're surprisingly ammenable to cultivation so far. I'll probably collect more of them next year.

I have family in Fort Collins and they say people don't plant aspen much any more, because they die after a few decades. Something about the summer heat? I imagine in pot that's easier to control.

 

[Colorado]

Snapped a quick pic of mine today

 

[Lorax7]

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.

I’m currently growing a couple of young aspens with the intention of eventually creating a mixed forest planting. I haven’t yet figured out how to get them to back bud down lower on the trunk. Currently, I’m managing growth by cutting the strong apical shoots in spring to stimulate more lateral growth and also thinning the canopy using the sort of leaf cutting techniques some folks use for Japanese maples to let more light through the canopy. Whether that is a successful strategy remains to be seen, as I haven’t had them very long. I’m using similar techniques on several birch trees that I intend to eventually be part of the forest planting.

 

[Asymetrix]

It's funny how lifespan keeps getting cited. Like how many people on this forum have actually had a tree for 20+ years? You would be incredibly privileged to see the tree die of its natural lifespan.

Aspen are beautiful trees. If you haven't seen the quiet beauty of Aspen groves in the snow you are missing out. Calling them trash trees is offensive and ignorant of the amazing diversity of north America.

Look at them for what they are, and what aspects they can evoke in the western mind.

Don't stuff them in the tired broken japanese box like everything else.

I applaud you all for trying. When I hear people say how terrible species "x" is I just hear - "hi I'm terrible at growing species"x" so it must suck, now let me clip on my exclusively japanese crap that even the dinosaurs had figured out."

Good luck