Italian Alder - Alnus cordata - €15 per plant

The Italian Alder medium-sized tree grows up to 25 m tall. The catkins of Italian Alder provide early pollen for insects and the over-wintering cones are a good food source for birds. The leaves are deciduous but with a very long season in leaf, from April to December. Like other members of Alnus genus, it is able to fix nitrogen from the air. It thrives on much drier soils than most other alders, and grows rapidly even under very unfavourable circumstances, which renders it extremely valuable for landscape planting on poor soils and heavily compacted sites. It is commonly grown as a windbreak.   To order this plant please contact us [email protected].  

Context

  • native region: Europe - S. Italy, Corsica.
  • native habitat: Hills, mountains
  • family: Betulaceae


Predators

  • Brown leaf spots on leaves are often created by the fungi Macrosporium catalpae
  • Powdery mildew causes a white powdery coating on the leaves.

Needs, tolerances 

  • Light: Full sun 
  • soil pH:  acid-neutral -basic alkaline 
  • USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 - 9
  • Best grown in an open sunny site.
  • Thrives on poor and dryish soils, even on chalk

Known hazards 

  • ​None known

Overview

  • 1 - 1.5 m tall sapling bare root 
  • Deciduous Tree growing to 25 m by 8 m at a fast rate
  • Flowers in March. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind.
  • It can fix Nitrogen.
  • Suitable for: medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils.
  • Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
  • It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
  • It prefers dry moist or wet soil.
  • The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Characteristics

  • form: Standard Tree 
  • layer : Upper Canopy 
  • habit: fast growing, conical
  • height x width (m): 25 x 8
  • years to bearing flowers :
  • productive life span:

Products, uses

  • An excellent pioneer species for re-establishing woodlands on disused farmland, difficult sites etc. Its fast rate of growth means that it quickly provides sheltered conditions to allow more permanent woodland trees to become established 
  • Can be planted on land that is compacted and very nutrient poor. 
  • An excellent windbreak for maritime areas, it grows quite quickly and establishes well even in very windy sites

Functions, behaviours

  • The Italian Alder makes a medium to large bonsai, a quick grower it responds well to pruning with branches ramifying well and leaf size reducing quite rapidly.
  • Has a heavy leaf canopy and when the leaves fall in the autumn they help to build up the humus content of the soil.
  • Trees can be coppiced.
  • Fixes nitrogen via symbiotic relationship with Frankia spp. bacteria

Polyculture Partners - plants that should grow well with Alnus cordata  

Picture

    If you would like more information about this polyculture click to here to move over to our blog article. 
    If you would like this plant please send an email to [email protected] with your order. 
    Balkan Ecology Project