Widely dispersed in Europe into the Caucasus, but not native to Great Britain. Big shrub to multiple-stemmed tree with a compact, irregular crown. The trunk and the young twigs are grey. In contrast with A. glutinosa, A. incana has no sticky parts. The alternate green leaves are ovate and acute-pointed, they have serrated margins and hairy to velvety undersides. Buds are short stalked. The inflorescence with ± 0.5 cm female catkins and ± 7 cm purplish male catkins with yellow pollen, is inconspicuous. The grey brown strobiles appear in September and decorate the tree all winter. A. incana roots fairly deep, but shallower than A. glutinosa and is used in forestry as a producer of nitrogen. Intolerant to hard surfaces.
usually not toxic to people, (large) pets and livestock
Soil type
calcicole, tolerates dry soils
Soil moisture
suitable for dry soil, withstand short flood, withstand long flood
Paving
tolerates no paving
Winter hardiness zone
3 (-40,0 to -24,5 °C)
Wind resistance
good, susceptible to sea wind
Other resistances
resistant to frost (WH 1 - 6), can withstand wind, resistant to de-icing salt
Application
industrial areas
Shape
clearstem tree, multi-stem treem
Origin
Europe, West Asia, North America
Clear stem treeMulti-stem treecalcareous soilclay soilloamy soilsandy soiltolerates no pavinglight-lovingresistant to de-icing saltresistant to frost (WH 1 - 6)suitable for dry soilwithstand long floodwithstand short floodcan withstand windovoid/egg-shaped1st size , taller than 12 metreshalf-open crowngreenvioletFebruaryfast growingConspicuous bloomnon-toxic (usually)Ornamental fruit
Alnus incana can eventually reach a height of 12 - 18 (20) m, fast growing, depending on the site and climate conditions.
Alnus incana is fast growing and can eventually reach a height of 12 - 18 (20) m, fast growing, depending on the site and climate conditions.
The right time to plant Alnus incana is during the dormancy period. In Western Europe, Alnus incana with root balls can generally be planted from mid-November to late April, although this depends strongly on the climatic conditions and the species of tree.