Other Names:  White Alder

Description:

An interesting foliage accent tree for moist locations; leaves start out an attractive yellow in spring fading to yellow-green in the heat of summer, yellowish catkins are attractive in early spring; a tidy, well-behaved tree with no major negatives

Ornamental Features

Golden Alder is primarily valued in the landscape for its distinctively pyramidal habit of growth. It has harvest gold catkins hanging below the branches in early spring before the leaves. It has attractive chartreuse deciduous foliage which emerges yellow in spring. The serrated oval leaves are highly ornamental and turn yellow in fall.

Landscape Attributes

Golden Alder is a deciduous tree with a distinctive and refined pyramidal form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Golden Alder is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Shade

Planting & Growing

Golden Alder will grow to be about 40 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 25 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 5 feet from the ground, and should not be planted underneath power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more.

This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.