Gray Birch
Betula populifolia Small tree Zones 3–8 20–40 ft
Shares rocky ground, sandy barrens, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Quaking Aspen
Populus tremuloides. Medium tree, 20 to 82 feet, zones 2 to 6; full sun or part shade; dry, average or wet ground.
We do not grow quaking aspen, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Trembling aspen, American aspen, golden aspen, mountain aspen, trembling poplar, quaking poplar |
|---|---|
| Form | Medium tree |
| Height, feet | 20 to 82 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 30 |
| Zones | 2 to 6 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, hedge or screen, street tree, erosion control |
| Flowers | March to June |
| Fruit | Capsules, May to June |
| First crop | 10 to 20 years (the minimum for large crops; some open-grown clones bear from 2 or 3) |
| Pollination | Separate male and female trees. Most quaking aspens carry only male or only female flowers, and a grove from one root is one sex, so a female grove bears seed only with a male nearby. |
| Lifespan | Can live 226 years, and the oldest dated one reached 213. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on quaking aspen marks it as one that does not transplant well. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Rocky ground, sandy barrens, dry uplands, old fields and edges |
| Native in | 38 states |
Quaking aspen is native in 38 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in Arkansas and Delaware, where it is naturalized, not native.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it flowers and fruits, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of quaking aspen's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Dwarf Hackberry
Celtis tenuifolia Small tree Zones 4–9 15–30 ft
Shares rocky ground, sandy barrens, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Gum Bumelia
Sideroxylon lanuginosum Small tree Zones 5–10 15–45 ft
Shares rocky ground, sandy barrens, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Farkleberry
Vaccinium arboreum Small tree Zones 6–10 10–25 ft
Shares rocky ground, sandy barrens, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Sassafras
Sassafras albidum Medium tree Zones 4–9 30–60 ft
Shares sandy barrens, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Western Soapberry
Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii Medium tree Zones 5–9 20–50 ft
Shares rocky ground, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, Iowa State University Extension, the USDA PLANTS Database, Go Botany, the US Forest Service and Virginia Tech's dendrology site.