Ash
Fraxinus species (OLEACEAE)
Planting and Growing Ash Trees
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow ash trees in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and seeds of ash trees
- Growing conditions for ash
- When to plant ash
- How to plant ash
- How to prune ash
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of ash
- Landscape uses of ash
- Pest and disease control for ash
Growing Ash Trees
About 65 species of fast-growing, spreading, mostly deciduous trees, 25–80 ft. (7.5–24 m) tall, with shiny, deep green to bronze, divided leaves, to 16 in. (40 cm) long, as 5–11 leaflets, turning purple, red in autumn.
Cultivated species include white ash, Fraxinus americana; European ash, Fraxinus excelsior; flowering ash, Fraxinus ornus; Raywood ash, Fraxinus oxycarpa ‘Raywood;’ red ash, Fraxinus pennsylvanica; and Texas ash, Fraxinus texensis.
Ash Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Seeds
Inconspicuous, branching panicles of flowers borne separately on male and female trees in spring. Maplelike seed in autumn. Seedless male cultivars available.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Varies by species; most are hardy in zones 7–10, some to zone 4.
Soil Type and Fertility
Damp, well-drained soil. Fertility: Average–low. 6.5–8.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun. Space 15–20 ft. (4.5–6 m) apart. Transplant in spring.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep soil damp. Prune to thin. Propagate by seed.
About This Species
Good choice for screens in arid, shade, woodland gardens and roadside plantings. Reduce maintenance by planting seedless cultivars. Drought tolerant. Borer, ash whitefly and anthracnose susceptible.
Ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus), an invasive fungal disease that originated in Asia infects Ash trees in the United Kingdom. Use pre-and post-pruning sterile-tool procedures to remove symptomatic limbs of infected trees. Avoid chipping wood or movement of cuttings from the source area to prevent spread of the disease to healthy trees.