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Betulaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Alnus cordata

Alnus cordata

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthFast

Alnus cordata is native to the warm temperate region of southern Italy, but also grows well in cooler regions of the temperate zone. It requires a mean annual rainfall of 1,000mm or more for it to thrive. Prefers a sunny position in a moist, fertile soil. Thrives on poor and dryish soils, even on chalk, but prefers to be near water[1, 2]. Prefers a heavy soil and a damp situation[3, 1]. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Tolerates very infertile sites[1, 2]. A very ornamental tree[3], it is very fast growing, reaching 12 metres tall in 20 years in an exposed maritime position at Rosewarne in N. Cornwall[4]. Very tolerant of salt winds, it establishes rapidly in exposed positions[4]. Trees can be coppiced with rotations of 15 - 20 years to provide biomass, pulp, fuel etc, or can be grown as high forest and cut when 70 - 80 years old for timber[5]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil micro-organisms, these form nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[2].

Propagation

Seed - best sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe and only just covered[2]. Spring sown seed should also germinate successfully so long as it is not covered[2, PFAF]. The seed should germinate in the spring as the weather warms up. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots. If growth is sufficient, it is possible to plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer, otherwise keep them in pots outdoors and plant them out in the spring. If you have sufficient quantity of seed, it can be sown thinly in an outdoor seed bed in the spring[6]. The seedlings can either be planted out into their permanent positions in the autumn/winter, or they can be allowed to grow on in the seed bed for a further season before planting them. Cuttings of mature wood, taken as soon as the leaves fall in autumn, outdoors in sandy soil. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Alnus+cordata>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]Shelter Trees and Hedges. — Rosewarne experimental horticultural station. · Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food · 1984 · ISBN - ↩︎A small booklet packed with information on trees and shrubs for hedging and shelterbelts in exposed maritime areas.
  5. [5]European Atlas of Forest Tree Species — Jesús San-Miguel-Ayanz et al · European Union · 2016 · http://bookshop.europa.eu · ISBN 978-92-79-36740-3 ↩︎Detailed information on 76 species of European trees. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  6. [6]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  7. [7]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  8. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎