Standard Trees - Alnus incana Aurea
Alnus incana Aurea, the Golden Alder, has much the same qualities as Grey Alder and is much better looking in our book, although it does not grow so fast. The exuberant, warm yellow foliage looks great from the time it opens through to autumn and is preceded each spring by quite long, deep pink catkins. If your project requires a number of Alders, we heartily recommend mixing in a few of these pretty trees to liven up your property. Alnus incana Aurea, like all of its close relatives, is able to fix nitrogen courtesy of the symbiotic bacteria that live in nodules on its roots. This both enables it to thrive on awful soil and enrich it for the plants that follow. It is a typical pioneer tree, taking advantage of open areas and eventually giving way to larger, longer lived trees. Alnus incana Aurea can be used to great effect in reclamation operations to improve the soil, bind it together and begin the cycle of leaf decomposition that will eventually create a new top layer of earth. It will happily grow in sodden ground and marshy areas where the water is fresh. It has a healthy suckering habit, creating a thicket of stems that shelters wildlife, its young buds are also eaten by some species of bird. Like its cousins, Alnus incana Aurea probably won't live more that 80 years and often loses its main trunk after about 60. If there is no competition for light, it will then live on as a mass of smaller stems and suckers. Clumps of Alders in that stage of life, growing on mud banks and small islands, provide great habitats for so many of our wetland creatures, including birds, newts and dragonflies. It grows to about 20 metres, 60 feet.
Planting Alnus incana Aurea
Alnus incana Aurea is not quite as demanding about light as other Alders as it isn't such a vigorous grower. If you need speed, we recommend Grey or Common Alder. If time is not such a factor for you, then Aurea is certainly the more attractive choice. It will thrive anywhere except acidic peat and shallow chalky soil. Very wet soil is fine, as is dry, infertile earth. All Alders are pollution resistant and as Aurea is one of the showiest, we highly recommend it for roadside planting.
If you are unclear about the way standard trees are sized, take a look at our Guide to Standard Tree Sizing or you can go back to our main standard trees page.
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