Bron & Son this year has started marketing a cultivar of Populus tremuloides as "Prairie Skyrise" Yes. NOT tremula -- not the erect form of european aspen. The literature cites even more compact than P. tremula 'erecta' and at least on the ones I bought this is true. Indeed they are a 1 foot diameter column of almost solid leaf. The curious thing: 1. I can find NO information about this cultivar outside of Bron's web site. 2. There appears to be no plant patent/royalty/COPF labeling on the plant or the invoice. So: Anyone got any info about this critter? Is B&S marketing an old plant under a new name? I'm moderately excited by this plant, as, being based on tremuloides instead of tremula it may be more resistant to Bronze Leaf Disease which affects the swedish aspen. but at least in Alberta doesn't seem to affect trembling aspen. OTOH, BLD may strike at compact forms of Populus because of the compact form: Easy for fungal spores to get from leaf to leaf, higher humidity in the column, more damaged leaves from closer packing of leaf and twig, etc.
