Hi Steven,

I'm not sure if Aspen roots get large enough to damage a foundation or not, but cottonwood roots (both are in the Poplar family) definitely DO get big enough to do damage! Neighbors behind me have old cottonwoods, and I've found at least one root that was 3-4" diameter growing right up to and along my foundation which is at least 40' away from the tree! It's been killed, but I don't know how many more are out there.

In terms of being INVASIVE! YES! Once they're there it's extremely difficult to impossible to ever get rid of them completely, and if you're in the "lowlands" in the Metro Denver area, they do very poorly down here and will be VERY short lived, leaving you with the invasive root system and suckers coming up everywhere. If you're in the foothills or higher, the original trees will probably do somewhat better and live longer--but the invasive roots will still be an eternal problem.

Here are links to "a few of" our past Aspen threads. A few people defend them--most don't! Read these threads and decide for yourself.

April 2005

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2130407/planting-aspen-trees

May 2005

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2131956/aspen-roots

August 2006

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2139715/planting-aspens

I'm pretty amazed landscapers are still planting Aspens! I thought they stopped doing that back in the 70s or 80s!

Welcome to RMG,

Skybird

Thanks Skybird,

The trees are actually doing quite well, so that's why I would hate to get rid of them. If they pose a risk to the house, then I'll have to reconsider.

I actually haven't really noticed any suckers sprouting up elsewhere in our yard...so I will post a picture here just to confirm.

Thanks again for the helpful reply!

Steven

Hi Steven. If you want to keep them, you might consider thinning them out. Aspen planted together tend to compete and grow upwards as fast as possible, leaving you to look at nothing but trunks out your window.

Hi Steven,

I never got a chance to get back here, but after seeing your pics, I pretty much agree that you shouldn't have too much of a problem with the suckers. I looks like they're pretty much "hemmed in" between the house and the street! You will eventually find them coming out on the "ends" in whatever grass or whatever is growing in the front and back of the house--that's just what they do! The day before yesterday I was out again and sprayed another bunch of my neighbor's suckers in my front yard!

If you're in the "lowlands" down here in the Metro Denver area, I seriously doubt that they'll last--or at least look good--for 20 years, but they look good now and you can always decide what you want to do with them when they start to decline.

Enjoy them while they look good,

Skybird

P.S. If you have any doubts that they sucker, check out these pics!

06.22.15 - after I had been gone for a couple weeks!

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/X3ooWHX8AfOdgHkMo0R0GadtHZHTh5d06Slth8pk5yQ?feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-z2b4oEZQOdcyvT2C3dZB6dtHZHTh5d06Slth8pk5yQ?feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5LHffPo37QgpixQcyypCrKdtHZHTh5d06Slth8pk5yQ?feat=directlink

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kiJS55iy80IyQpRB3bE0cKdtHZHTh5d06Slth8pk5yQ?feat=directlink

06.25.15 - three days after spraying with Weed-B-Gon

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qYdaoeGYHFHt0JqfqLdduadtHZHTh5d06Slth8pk5yQ?feat=directlink

06.29.15 - seven days after spraying, when I was finally just about to cut the whole mess down!

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/--ofIY3bLdreq3iCLrfMGadtHZHTh5d06Slth8pk5yQ?feat=directlink

When it comes to aspen suckering in turfgrass, suckering is more pronounced in weak/thin turf grass as pictured above. The aspen roots are a huge organism. As the roots spread, they know where a good spot is to send up shoots. Those spots are where moisture is more abundant compared to other areas . In thick healthy turfgrass, where the root system is deep/vibrant and the thatch layer is adequate, there will be less suckering. The aspen root will focus on finding another weak area elsewhere. Thick healthy turfgrass also has less broadleaf weeds. Think of it as thick turfgrass "choking out" suckers and weeds.

I don't really want to argue or anything, but I would need to dispute your theory that the suckers won't come up in thicker grass! When I bought the house eleven years ago, there had been new sod put in approximately 1-2 years before I bought it and the grass was thick and beautiful. The suckering problem was no less then than it is now! Over the years there have been a couple houses "abandoned" immediately adjacent to me and the yards were left to grow up into 3-5' weed-lots, and in the last few years, the weeds in the front yard from those "neighbors" have so completely invaded the grass that I have pretty much given up on it! The pics I posted above were also taken after I had been gone for three weeks, when the grass had not been watered at all, and the suckers had not been mowed down. It looks even worse than it did again when I was back home and watering again, but, again, the suckers were here when I bought the house--with good turf/sod, and the suckers are there now with the deteriorating turf/sod. The extent of the suckers has not changed for the better or worse!

Skybird