Poplar (cottonwood) — Quaking Aspen
Populus tremuloides
Poplar (cottonwood) — Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) is a Colorado-native tree suited to the Colorado Front Range, rated "Trees With Potential" on the 2024 Front Range Tree Recommendation List. It matures to about 20–50 ft tall and 10–30 ft wide, and needs medium water. Aspen struggles below ~7,500 ft on the plains — heat stress, sunscald, Cytospora canker, and borers (oystershell scale, poplar borer) cause decline. It's a montane native; performs poorly as a single landscape specimen at lower elevations.
Colorado nativemedium water20–50 ft tall and 10–30 ft wideDeer-resistant
Photos
At a glance
- Rating
- Trees With Potential
- Botanical name
- Populus tremuloides
- Variety / cultivar
- Quaking Aspen
- Type
- Tree
- Mature size
- 20–50 ft tall and 10–30 ft wide
- Water needs
- medium water
- Colorado native
- Yes
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Soil
- clay, loam, sandy
- Soil pH
- 6.0–8.2
- Hail tolerance
- low
- Wind tolerance
- low
- Salt tolerance
- moderate
- Good for
- slope
Site factors to consider
- Critical: Cold Hardiness
- Watch: Short Lived
- Watch: Suckers
Frequently asked questions
- Is Poplar (cottonwood) — Quaking Aspen good for the Colorado Front Range?
- Yes. Poplar (cottonwood) — Quaking Aspen is included in the Front Range Plant Finder as a tree suited to Colorado's Front Range, rated "Trees With Potential" on the 2024 Front Range Tree Recommendation List.
- How big does Poplar (cottonwood) — Quaking Aspen get?
- It matures to about 20–50 ft tall and 10–30 ft wide.
- How much water does Poplar (cottonwood) — Quaking Aspen need?
- It needs medium water once established.
- Is Poplar (cottonwood) — Quaking Aspen native to Colorado?
- Yes — it is a Colorado native.
Find Poplar (cottonwood) — Quaking Aspen near you
See also
Related trees
Poplar (cottonwood) — Narrowleaf
Populus angustifolia
Poplar (cottonwood) — Eastern
Populus deltoides
Poplar (cottonwood) — Plains 'Jeronimus'
Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera
Poplar (cottonwood) — Upright European, Aspen
Populus tremula 'Erecta'
Poplar (cottonwood) — PRAIRIE GOLD®
Populus tremuloides
Poplar (cottonwood) — Lanceleaf
Populus x acuminata