Aspen trees are not native to our altitude. They are an amazing tree that thrives and shines in it's natural habitat. They are almost synonymous with Colorado and there are great stands of them in the mountains. But, at 6000 ft, they will not flourish. Their happy place is over 8000 ft. Of course, everyone plants them in their yards and businesses. But eventually, they will start to put out long runners, sending up small trees in manicured lawns and garden beds and among the flowers. And often, coming up in the neighbor's yard. They are hard to eliminate and it's like a game of 'whack-a-mole'. So far, we have had to remove several trees. After trying to reproduce by runners, the main tree dies off, limb by limb. When you see a runner, you know the nearby aspen is in it death spiral and won't last but a few more years. We have 2 left on the east side of the house and I see the changing seasons thru our windows. But they are dying and I will really miss them, Others, out of my vision, seem to be doing OK for now. Our HOA no longer allows aspen to be planted and recommend the river birch which is similar but just not the same.
