Tree leaf identification

ifconfig

I wonder if anyone can ID this tree ? I've seen quite a few of them around
Mayo / Roscommon mostly as ornamental trees in front gardens.
Its distinguishing feature is the variegated / tinge of pinky/copper and
creamy white around the edges of the leaves.
I've seen a few examples of the tree where the owners have nicely
clipped the leaves so to give a round shape of the foliage.

-ifc

looksee

I think its a variegated poplar but i cant find a decent picture, there is a pic at the bottom of this page http://ourlittlecornerofparadise.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2007-04-22T11%3A36%3A00Z&max-results=7

magicbastarder

if it's a variegated poplar, it's not the sort of tree you want near your house; the roots are very invasive.

Irish Gardener

magicbastarder wrote:

if it's a variegated poplar

It is a variegated poplar alright Populus x candicans 'Aurora' AKA Populus x jackii 'Aurora'.
ifconfig, bear in mind that that colour is just on the fresh growth, it will eventually darken to green.
But the new foliage has a sweet fresh scent.
magicbastarder is correct about the roots, they are vigorous.

Benjy

I planted 6 of these, which were given to us as a house-warming present, about 18 years ago and the label on them was "Populus Candicans". I subsequently cut 5 of them down because of their invasive roots & what they were doing to the paths at the side of the house. However, "her indoors" persuaded me to leave the sixth one ("because it looks lovely in that corner"). I'm now regretting the fact that that I didn't cut it down as its roots have now spread throughout the garden and are at surface level. This creates problems for weeding, mowing, kicking ball etc. Now it's going to be a major exercise to remove it.

ifconfig

Many thanks for the informative responses.
I'd heard about poplar in general being a tree variety to avoid on account
of root systems. I didn't realise that this variegated tree was part of
the poplar family. It's amazing to see how many gardens in the west
of Ireland seem to have put them in (mostly at front walls nearer the
road .. but probably not far enough from house foundations).
The garden centres must be stocking them and selling them to folks
who don't know better as it certainly appears to be a popular garden
tree.

I've noticed Whitebeams (sorbus hibernica) around in recent weeks too.
It's quite a nice looking tree - nice light colored leaves. Is this tree
at the safer end of the spectrum for planting in a domestic setting ?

-ifc

looksee

Its a member of the same family as Mountain Ash, also called Rowan (native Irish trees). All these trees are lovely for a small to medium garden. I personally prefer the Mountain Ash, there are lots of variations of berry colours available and the foliage is more feathery than the Whitebeam.

Irish Gardener

ifconfig wrote:

I've noticed Whitebeams (sorbus hibernica) around in recent weeks too.
It's quite a nice looking tree - nice light colored leaves.

-ifc

Its more likely you spotted Sorbus aria rather than our native Sorbus hibernica, which is quite rare.
Sorbus aria, specifically Sorbus aria "Lutescens" is a widely planted "garden centre tree" throughout ireland.

ifconfig

Absolutely correct.. I meant the Sorbus Aria.
I think I picked up on Sorbus hibernica from some googling and possibly
looking at your fine website.

I have several mountain ash/rowan planted around the perimeter of the house.
The berries look lovely in later summer / early autumn.

In terms of dressy trees the ones which always catch my eye for a front
garden are the Staghorn (Sumac) and Laburnum.
I'm not sure I'll get away with planting a Sumac in the front garden since
when we sold our house in Kildare a few years ago and were waiting for
the sale to go through we neglected our back garden and the seeds from
the sumac scattered and our back garden became a tropical forest with
mini -sumacs all over the place !!
The Laburnums look lovely in spring but I'm always a bit concerned about
the poisonous seeds especially if kids are about.

Irish Gardener

ifconfig wrote:

In terms of dressy trees the ones which always catch my eye for a front
garden are the Staghorn (Sumac) and Laburnum.
I'm not sure I'll get away with planting a Sumac in the front garden since
when we sold our house in Kildare a few years ago and were waiting for
the sale to go through we neglected our back garden and the seeds from
the sumac scattered and our back garden became a tropical forest with
mini -sumacs all over the place !!

The issue with the Staghorn Sumac is its tendency to pop up suckers everywhere, many new trunks from one root system.
If you want to plant it in your new front garden, I suggest creating a raised brick or block bed approx 2ft high to contain your stags horn plus any upstarts.
Its a beautiful shrub/tree and well worth including.