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Colorado Native Quaking Aspen
Native! So a great choice for my yard, right?
By Chris Leinster - August 11, 2025
Head west to any High Country destination in Colorado and you’ll surely pass through or arrive at a magical forest of Aspen trees. With their towering bleached white trunks, densely packed stands, and trembling leaves that flutter in the breeze, a walk through an Aspen forest is a truly enchanting experience! Spend enough time lingering among these quaking giants and you will likely encounter deer, elk, or moose that feast voraciously on the tender leaves.
As you cruise west on I-70 you may notice that south facing hillsides on your right are rather barren, hosting mostly grasses and the stray Ponderosa Pine, Pinion Pine, or Rocky Mountain Juniper. To your left, slopes are more lushly decorated with Spruce, Fir, and Aspen…lots and lots of Aspen! North facing slopes shade themselves, so they tend to be cooler and they retain more water. This is where Aspen thrive, particularly along valley floors along stream banks where soil moisture and humidity are abundant.
So they grow well in Colorado and therefore should be an excellent addition to our yard in the Front Range, right? Not so much. As previously mentioned, they prefer higher elevations and cooler temperatures. East of the Hogback the sun bakes barren soil, much like the south facing slopes of our mountain passes where Aspen are rarely found. Even with ample irrigation, the dry air of Eastern Colorado stresses Aspen through the long, hot days of Summer. I like to say that I love Aspen…in Aspen. Down here they struggle, and weak trees become susceptible to various bacterial diseases and leaf blights.
As you gaze upon a grove of Aspen Trees in the mountains, you are likely looking at a single Aspen tree with multiple trunks! Did you know that Aspen colonize by sending up trees from sprawling root systems? Technically a single tree even though you see dozens or even hundreds of seemingly independent trees. In fact, an Aspen grove spanning over one hundred acres in Utah, named “The Pando Tree”, is considered the largest single living organism on earth!
This information is useful on trivia night, but it also means that Aspen often send up trees in your lawn, gardens, your neighbor’s lawn, and generally anywhere you didn’t intend to plant a tree. The surface roots can tear up your grass, much like their close cousins the Cottonwood. And like Cottonwood, they have cottony seeds that can clutter up the garden and can also sprout trees. These attributes make them less than desirable trees for most residential gardens along the Front Range.
Even if you can get them to grow successfully, Aspen tend to be short lived down here, usually expiring within 15-20 years. I see Aspen in various stages of decline whenever I drive through a mature neighborhood. Still, if you need a quick screen and intend to be in the house for only a few years Aspen might be suitable for your needs. I don’t feature Aspen on my website so if you insist on Aspen call or email for availability and pricing. The best way to appreciate Aspen is by blasting turns on a powder day through a north facing Aspen glade at Steamboat, Beaver Creek, or, naturally, Aspen!
As you cruise west on I-70 you may notice that south facing hillsides on your right are rather barren, hosting mostly grasses and the stray Ponderosa Pine, Pinion Pine, or Rocky Mountain Juniper. To your left, slopes are more lushly decorated with Spruce, Fir, and Aspen…lots and lots of Aspen! North facing slopes shade themselves, so they tend to be cooler and they retain more water. This is where Aspen thrive, particularly along valley floors along stream banks where soil moisture and humidity are abundant.
So they grow well in Colorado and therefore should be an excellent addition to our yard in the Front Range, right? Not so much. As previously mentioned, they prefer higher elevations and cooler temperatures. East of the Hogback the sun bakes barren soil, much like the south facing slopes of our mountain passes where Aspen are rarely found. Even with ample irrigation, the dry air of Eastern Colorado stresses Aspen through the long, hot days of Summer. I like to say that I love Aspen…in Aspen. Down here they struggle, and weak trees become susceptible to various bacterial diseases and leaf blights.
As you gaze upon a grove of Aspen Trees in the mountains, you are likely looking at a single Aspen tree with multiple trunks! Did you know that Aspen colonize by sending up trees from sprawling root systems? Technically a single tree even though you see dozens or even hundreds of seemingly independent trees. In fact, an Aspen grove spanning over one hundred acres in Utah, named “The Pando Tree”, is considered the largest single living organism on earth!
This information is useful on trivia night, but it also means that Aspen often send up trees in your lawn, gardens, your neighbor’s lawn, and generally anywhere you didn’t intend to plant a tree. The surface roots can tear up your grass, much like their close cousins the Cottonwood. And like Cottonwood, they have cottony seeds that can clutter up the garden and can also sprout trees. These attributes make them less than desirable trees for most residential gardens along the Front Range.
Even if you can get them to grow successfully, Aspen tend to be short lived down here, usually expiring within 15-20 years. I see Aspen in various stages of decline whenever I drive through a mature neighborhood. Still, if you need a quick screen and intend to be in the house for only a few years Aspen might be suitable for your needs. I don’t feature Aspen on my website so if you insist on Aspen call or email for availability and pricing. The best way to appreciate Aspen is by blasting turns on a powder day through a north facing Aspen glade at Steamboat, Beaver Creek, or, naturally, Aspen!