Habitat

• native to Europe and western Asia
• hardy to zone 4
• Special Note: This species has demonstrated an invasive tendency in Connecticut, meaning it may escape from cultivation and naturalize in minimally managed areas. For more information, Click Here.

Habit and Form

• a deciduous tree
• narrow pyramidal or columnar shape
• multi-stemmed
• 40' to 60' tall
• 20' to 40' wide
• fast growth rate

Summer Foliage

• deciduous, simple leaves
• alternate leaf arrangement
• leaves are 2" to 4" long and 3" to 4" wide
• rounded leaf shape
• crenate leaf margin
• dark green leaf color

Autumn Foliage

• no fall color
• leaves fall off tree either green or brown

Flowers

• 2" to 4" long catkins
• egg-shaped strobili
• monoecious
• not ornamentally important

Fruit

• egg-shaped nutlet
• maturing in October
• not ornamentally important

Bark

• greenish brown bark
• young stems are glabrous

Culture

• easily transplanted
• prefers moist soil
• full sun to partial shade
• prune in late winter

Landscape Uses

• difficult sites
• street tree

Liabilities

• powdery mildew, alder aphids, lacebug, flea beetle, leaf miner

ID Features

• stalked buds, 0.25" to 0.5" long
• buds are purplish and valvate
• a deciduous tree with a narrow pyramidal or columnar shape
• crenate leaf margin
• alternate leaf arrangement

Propagation

• by seed
• by cuttings

Cultivars/Varieties

'Aurea' - Leaves emerge strong yellow, but this color will probably fade in warm summer areas.

'Imperialis' - A form with strongly-dissected leaves, more than half-way to the midrib. Said to be irregular and awkward in youth, but more elegant with age.

'Laciniata' - This cultivar has shallowly-dissected leaves. A vigorous plant that will attain the same height as the species.

'Pyramidalis' (also known as 'Fastigiata') - A form which grows upright with narrow spread, to 50' tall and much less width. Grows well and resists disease, unlike the popular P. nigra 'Italica'.