Field performance of hybrid aspen clones planted in summer

Abstract

We investigated the possibility to plant clonal hybrid aspen (Populus tremula x tremuloides) during the summer of propagation when the plants are 20–25 cm tall and only a few months old. In four experiments carried out in years 1998–2001, survival of summer-planted hybrid aspens was at least as high as that of hybrid aspen planted in autumn and spring. In all experiments, compared to planting in September or the following May, height growth was greater with planting in July and early August. Root egress of hybrid aspens planted in July and August was also greater than that of aspens planted in autumn or the following spring. Summer planting was thus possible both with plants produced by micropropagation and with those produced from root cuttings.