Some type of Populus??

[Desert O'Piñon]

When I first saw these trees/woody plants, I assumed they were apricots. But I've never seen flower or fruit on them. My neighbor has these three growing in very large terra cotta pots for ±20 years. They are each about 8' tall with maybe 1.5" trunks. They really appeal to me for their color, leaf shape, bark, and branching. I have permission to take a few cuttings, so I'd like to know what I'm working with. Any suggestions?

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Is there any chance it could be pear?

 

[KateM]

I thought apricot by looking at the leaves...
You would think pear would flower/fruit, too...
Pretty shure it's not cottonwood... they would have catkins before leaves come out after 20years, I'd say...
Don't know.
DNA test?

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Lol
I was hoping apricot; I don't yet have a fruiting bonsai, but having never seen a single flower? Unless the neighbor just isn't giving it proper care.
Whatever it is, hopefully the cuttings will root and I can create something interesting.

 

[rockm]

Looks pear-ish to me. Would be more common than apricot in the nursery trade

Lack of flowering though is questionable

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Apricot from seed "could" be flowering by now, but if SE New Mexico does not get enough "chill hours" in winter to satisfy the cold requirements, then flowering won't happen. Apples and pears from seed can easily take 20 to 30 years to mature enough to begin flowering, this is the reason culinary apples and pears are usually from grafted trees. And again there is the question of whether chill requirements are being met.

@Desert O'Piñon - check with local landscape nurseries, see if they sell any apricots or pear varieties. If they do not, ask why. Bring along a leaf or a leaf and a twig from this mystery plant, see if they can ID it.

 

[NMbonsai]

The leaves definitely look like something in the apple/pear family. Good point from Leo about the winter chill factor. We can get fruit from apricots, apples, pears and peaches up here in the Rio Grande valley, but we are at a higher elevation than you guys in the southern part of the state. Elevation and resulting climate make such a difference here in the Southwest.

 

[NMbonsai]

I also don't think it's a cottonwood. Their leaves are more heart shaped. Do the nurseries there sell Bradford pears? If so, that might be a possibility, although as a flowering ornamental, the comment that you have never observed any flowers doesn't make sense. If not for flowers or fruit, why else would your neighbors have nurtured and grown them for twenty years?

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Apricot from seed "could" be flowering by now, but if SE New Mexico does not get enough "chill hours" in winter to satisfy the cold requirements, then flowering won't happen. Apples and pears from seed can easily take 20 to 30 years to mature enough to begin flowering

A few years after we moved into our house in 2001, I planted a nectarine that eventually succumbed to borers, I think. But we had flowers the first year, and (a pathetic excuse for) fruit every year after. So maybe these just aren't mature enough, as you suggested. I haven't been able to find a graft union, so maybe the neighbor planted the seeds.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I also don't think it's a cottonwood. Their leaves are more heart shaped. Do the nurseries there sell Bradford pears? If so, that might be a possibility, although as a flowering ornamental, the comment that you have never observed any flowers doesn't make sense. If not for flowers or fruit, why else would your neighbors have nurtured and grown them for twenty years?

Yeah, after posting the question, a little more research has me convinced it's not a cottonwood as well. As far as why nurture it? It's a really good-looking little tree. Nice foliage, nice color, good (a little leggy) shape, interesting bark.

@Leo in N E Illinois it's a good idea. We have 3 garden centers (we all know that horticultural experts work at garden centers) in town but I could take a sample before work and drive out to the real nursery out of town a ways. There's a fair chance they would know what it is.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Well, my neighbor hacked off two large branches. I had simply asked for 3 or 4 cuttings. Now I have between 60 and 70.
Ask and you shall receive, I guess.

Anyhow, I have hardwood cuttings, semi-hardwood cuttings (last year's growth), and softwood cuttings from what has grown out this year.

The more I look at these cuttings, the more convinced I am that it's some  Prunus species. Can root overcrowding cause a tree to not bloom?

 

[NMbonsai]

That's a good question but I don't know the answer. The only Prunus I have had any success with were fruit trees growing in the ground. Several years ago, I did try to make bonsai from several nursery stock sand cherries. I removed a large quantity of roots and put them directly into bonsai pots, instead of starting them in training pots or baskets as I usually do now days. Two died in the first year, but one lasted several years. It did flower each spring with successively fewer flowers each year until it finally died.

 

[MaciekA]

I have experience with various poplars and cottonwoods, European and (mostly) North American. This doesn't look like any populus species to me.

It does however look a lot like the apricot leaves and petioles on the picture a few scrolls down on this page: https://tree2mydoor.com/blogs/content/apricot-tree-care-guide