Chinese Alder

Alnus cremastogyne

Nitrogen-fixing tree native to many parts of China, tending towards areas with rainfall of 900 – 1500mm/year but drought hardy once established.  May be slightly frost tender when young, probably better suited to milder parts of the country. Like other alders, it is a useful pioneer species, great for providing early shelter, repairing soil that has been disturbed, for example after clear felling, fires, and mudslides, plus of course alders provide nitrogen fixation through root nodules and leaf litter.  They grow particularly well on south facing banks.  Also useful for windbreaks around orchards as the trees are upright and conical. Alders can also be used as a canopy tree in a food forest situation with the lower branches pruned to allow light in to lower levels, or as an early support species in a syntropic system, which are later cut and perhaps inoculated with mushroom spores.

Alder species have also been used medicinally across the world, and the leaves are high in protein and can be used for stock fodder.

Alders have both male and female flowers (catkins) in early spring. The attractive male catkins are long and turn yellow with pollen; the female catkins are much shorter and, following wind pollination, form cones in autumn. Alder catkins are high in protein and can be used as a survival food. The leaves of the Chinese alder are an attractive shiny green. The tree is semi-deciduous, losing its leaves in colder areas for around 6 weeks of the year.

Trees may reach 20m tall at maturity, spread to 8m.

Certified organic plant in PB3, 70-90cm