Good morning from beautiful Prather!
It’s a wet and windy week with thunderstorms rolling through and flurries of sleet and snow.

Engaging & Informative Seminar

Last weekend we hosted author and artist Obi Kaufmann for a seminar focusing on the San Joaquin Watershed and the intersection between poetry, place, and policy.

It was a thoughtful and memorable day. We were happy to be a part of it. If you appreciate this kind of place based learning, keep an eye out and sign up for future educational events with us.

We discussed ideas like emergent phenomena (how complex systems like ecosystems, cultures, and watersheds naturally organize themselves). We touched on hope being localized in the watershed, meaning change starts where you actually live. We went from deep-time ecology (like Pleistocene grazing, burning, and human influence) all the way to modern policy.

We learned how water infrastructure, fire, and landscape decisions shape culture just as much as ecology. Rather than winning arguments, Obi emphasized telling better, truer stories rooted in place. Thanks to our volunteers, Obi, and community for the beautiful conversation.

Quaking Aspen

Populus tremuloides

Quaking aspen are one of the most ecologically influential and widely distributed trees in North America, ranging from Alaska to Mexico and occupying elevations across the Sierra Nevada from montane foothills to subalpine basins. Aspen often exist as clonal organisms connected underground by a shared root system, producing genetically identical stems (ramets) that can live for thousands of years. This strategy allows rapid recovery after disturbances like fire or avalanche. In the central and southern Sierra, aspen occupies moist meadow margins, north-facing slopes, and areas with persistent moisture.

Populus tremuloides sits within the Salicaceae (Willow Family) related to cottonwoods and willows. Its signature trembling leaves (caused by flattened petioles) reduce wind drag and heat load and improve gas exchange. Aspen also plays a huge ecological role. Leaf litter enriches soils, canopy increases understory diversity, and its presence supports birds, ungulates, insects, and mycorrhizal networks that are distinct from surrounding conifer systems.

In landscape settings these trees can be easily misunderstood. They are not ornamental. They are a native colony forming species that prefer cool roots, consistent moisture, and seasonal temperature variation. In the central Sierra Nevada, planting success is highest between roughly 4,000–8,500 ft where winter chill, snowpack, and summer night cooling align with its physiology. Aspens do best in deep, well-drained soil with reliable subsurface moisture but not saturation. Irrigation should mimic natural hydrology. Deep, infrequent watering that maintains cool soil rather than shallow, frequent watering that promotes heat stress and root disease. Mulching can be beneficial, especially at lower elevations.

One of the most important considerations is that aspen spreads. Root suckering is not a flaw, it is the organism expressing its natural growth strategy. Plan space accordingly by allowing a grove to form. Avoid heavy soil compaction and extended drought or heat exposure. Fire ecology is also relevant. In wild systems disturbance rejuvenates aspen. This means that in managed landscapes periodic thinning can simulate this renewal and maintain health in your colony.

For our bare-root aspen stock: Keep roots cool, shaded, and moist from purchase through planting. Plant as soon as possible. When planting let the roots spread naturally and let the root collar sit at grade. Tamp the soil thoroughly to eliminate air pockets and water deeply to settle the root zone. Initial establishment depends on consistent soil moisture during the first growing season, but avoid waterlogging. Protect young stems from browsing, as ungulates strongly prefer aspen and can suppress establishment entirely.

When sited and managed correctly, quaking aspen brings movement, light, seasonal color, and ecological function unlike any other tree in the Sierra Nevada. An established grove becomes a living system, slowly creating habitat over time.

Bare-Root Trees Available $44
Call (559) 833-3113

Resources:

USFS Silvics of North America — Quaking aspen:
https://research.fs.usda.gov/silvics/quaking-aspen

USFS Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) — Populus tremuloides:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/poptre/all.html

Ecology, biodiversity, management, and restoration of aspen in the Sierra Nevada:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr178.pdf

California Wildlife Habitat Relationships (CWHR) — Aspen habitat description PDF:
https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=67332

Gorge and Bladderpod Sunset

Cleomella arborea

On a recent walk down from the Powerhouse toward the caves, there were bright shrubs perched along the steep upper slope, glowing against the winter afternoon. Peritoma (Cleomella) arborea, Bladderpod in full bloom here in the Gorge. A plant more commonly tied to Southern California and Baja, not something you expect to encounter in Fresno County, and actually there are still no official records of it in eastern Fresno County.

Being out in the field, watching, searching, collecting seed, it keeps me grounded in a constant state of appreciation for the living landscape. The Sierra Foothills, especially this time of year, carry a particular weight for me. Some plants are just waking from dormancy while others are already finished for the season. You hear people asking if the lupines are early, if Buckeyes have leafed, how long until the Redbuds push (it’s now). Every year follows familiar rhythms, yet never repeats itself. Having grown up here, I sometimes feel like I know the patterns, like I have a bit of home-court awareness of the cycles moving around us. But even the places I have walked dozens of times remind me over and over how much there still is to notice, to question, and to learn.

Growing up in Auberry, trips to Big Pools or down into the Gorge were part of life. The San Joaquin River Gorge is a rugged stretch of river shaped not only by geology and water, but by California’s hydroelectric past, and has a lesser-known outdoor education effort called Hands on the Land. As kids we were bused out there whenever possible. Looking back now, I realize how rare and formative those experiences were, though at the time we took them for granted.

I know I’m not the first, the last, nor the only one to see those yellow flowers, but the moment still carries the lesson that you never fully know a place, and that is exactly why you keep returning.

—Sf

Nursery Notes: February 19th, 2026

Engaging & Informative Seminar

Quaking Aspen

Gorge and Bladderpod Sunset