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Salicaceae FAMILY

Populus tremula

Populus tremula

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthFast

A very easily grown plant, it does well in a heavy cold damp soil[1], preferring a neutral to acid soil, and avoiding calcareous soils[2, 3]. The sub-species P. tremula davidiana. (Dode.)Schneid. is tolerant of extremely alkaline soils[4]. The species generally prefers a deep rich well-drained circumneutral soil, growing best in the south and east of Britain[2, 4]. Growth is much less on wet soils, on poor acid soils and on thin dry soils[2]. This species grows well on poor soils, probably because of its intolerance of competition[5]. Plants are very tolerant of exposure[3], doing well in cold exposed sites so long as sufficient moisture is present. Plants dislike shade[5], and are intolerant of root or branch competition[4]. A fast growing tree but it is short-lived[5]. Trees produce suckers freely and can form dense thickets[5]. The aspen is a very good wildlife plant, it has over 90 associated insect species[3] and is a food plant for the green hairstreak butterfly[5]. Poplars have very extensive and aggressive root systems that can invade and damage drainage systems. Especially when grown on clay soils, they should not be planted within 12 metres of buildings since the root system can damage the building's foundations by drying out the soil[2]. Can be planted to improve heavy clay soils in neglected woodlands[4]. A dioecious species - both male and female forms must be grown if fruit and seed are required.

Propagation

Seed - must be sown as soon as it is ripe in spring[6]. Poplar seed has an extremely short period of viability and needs to be sown within a few days of ripening[4]. Surface sow or just lightly cover the seed in trays in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the old frame. If sufficient growth is made, it might be possible to plant them out in late summer into their permanent positions, otherwise keep them in the cold frame until the following late spring and then plant them out. Most poplar species hybridize freely with each other, so the seed may not come true unless it is collected from the wild in areas with no other poplar species growing[2]. Cuttings of mature wood in late autumn in a sheltered outdoor bed. This species is rather difficult from cuttings[2, 6]. Suckers in early spring[7]. Root cuttings in the winter[4]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Populus+tremula>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]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 ]).
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]Making a Wildlife Garden. — Baines. C. ↩︎Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]Planting Native Trees and Shrubs. — Beckett. G. and K. · Jarrold · 1979 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent guide to native British trees and shrubs with lots of details about the plants.
  6. [6]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]Flora of the British Isles. — Clapham, Tutin and Warburg. · Cambridge University Press · 1962 · ISBN - ↩︎A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
  9. [9]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  10. [10]The Useful Plants of Great Britain. — Johnson. C. P. ↩︎Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.
  11. [11]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  12. [12]Edible and Medicinal Plants. — Launert. E. · Hamlyn · 1981 · ISBN 0-600-37216-2 ↩︎Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
  13. [13]The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. — Mills. S. Y. ↩︎An excellent small herbal.
  14. [14]Earth Medicine, Earth Food. — Weiner. M. A. · Ballantine Books · 1980 · ISBN 0-449-90589-6 ↩︎A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
  15. [15]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  16. [16]Handbook of the Bach Flower Remedies — Chancellor. P. M. · C. W. Daniel Co. Ltd. · 1985 · ISBN 85207 002 0 ↩︎Details the 38 remedies plus how and where to prescribe them.