A Welsh council tree nursery has propagated around 100 aspen trees using Air-Pot containers. The trees tolerate both drought and flooding, grow quickly, and support a wide range of wildlife. They are meant for carbon capture, flood mitigation, and climate adaptation projects, including future work with beavers. Aspen is hard to propagate because seed production is often unreliable. The nursery used root cuttings and a low-tech method developed by a Bangor University researcher. The Air-Pot system helped build dense, fibrous roots and prevented root circling, which improves survival when the trees are planted out. The project also highlights the need for a broader mix of tree species as conditions shift. Bare-root aspen planted on the same site did not survive recent heatwaves, while the container-grown trees kept developing strong root systems. That is a concrete lesson for anyone planning tree planting for carbon or biodiversity goals.
