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  • Roses
    • Types of Roses
    • Easy Roses
    • Climbing Roses
    • Portland's Rose Test Garden
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    • Pruning Roses
    • Rose Sawfly
    • Rose Bloom Balling
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    • Jack-in-the-pulpit, Cobra Lily
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    • Japanese Skimmia
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    • Laurustinus viburnum
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Mountain Ash/Rowan Tree

November's Plant of the Month

A tree for all Seasons

mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
Mountain ash are known for their colourful orange berries in the autumn.
mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
Brilliant coloured berries persist from late summer into winter.
mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
European mountain ash are perfect shade trees for urban gardens, and are tolerant of pollution.
mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
Clusters of white flowers with their prominent stamens attract many types of pollinators in May.
mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
Their foliage bears numerous oval leaflets oppositely arranged along a main midrib.
mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
The orange berries provide food for birds and other wildlife.
mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
Rowan trees autumn foliage don't disappoint.
Sorbus hupehensis 'Pink Pagoda',mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
The pink berries of the 'Pink Pagoda' mountain ash. It's a Chinese relative of the Sorbus.(S. hupehensis 'Pink Pagoda').
Picture
Young mountain ash trees have a narrow canopy.
​Common Name:  mountain ash, rowan tree
Botanical Name:  Sorbus
Form:    upright and narrow when young, then canopy broadens and rounds with age
Family:  Rosaceae
Genus:  Sorbus
Species:  aucuparia
Plant Type: deciduous tree
Mature Size:  20 to 40 feet x 10 to 20 feet
Growth: medium rate
Origin:  Great Britain, Europe, Western Asia, Siberia, naturalized in northern USA & Canada
Hardiness Zone: 3 to 6
Foliage:  alternate, compound matte green leaves are serrated, leaves comprised of 9-15 pinnate oblong leaflets, good fall colour from yellow, orange and, reddish-purple
Flowers: May, small white with 5 petals in flat clusters (corymbs)
Fruit: showy clusters of orangey-red berries (drupes) in late summer through winter
Exposure:  sun to semi-shade
Soil:  moist, acidic, well-drained
Uses:  specimen, accent, wildlife gardens, shade tree
Attracts: birds, wildlife, pollinating insects
Propagation:  seed, softwood cuttings
Pruning:  winter, when dormant
​Problems:  bacterial fire blight, scab, crown gall, aphids, drought stressed trees vulnerable to borers and cankers

Comments: 
This delightful small tree has many attributes with its flowers, berries, fall foliage and small stature. It’s just the right size to provide shade in small urban gardens, clusters of little white flowers in May are profuse and relished by pollinators, large clusters of hanging colourful berries follow and are very ornamental. Last but not least, their foliage colours up nicely in autumn.
 
Birds flock to devour the orange berries, however cultivars with pink and white fruit are not so popular, therefore they may stay on the tree into spring. The berries carry viable seeds, which means they tend to self-propagate.
 
Although mountain ash are pretty tough, they don’t tolerate drought. Their distress is noted by foliage that turns inwards so only the back of the leaves are visible. This gives the tree a greyish cast. Trees eventually decline if they are suffer from drought year after year.
 
Fire blight is a serious issue with mountain ash. Look for stems and leaves that appear burnt and scorched as though they had been in a fire. Fire blight’s tell-tale symptom blackened stems that become hooked like a shepherd’s hook.
 
Warm, wet and humid conditions favor this disease. There’s no simple and easy cure for fire blight so it’s commonly recommended to not to even try, however you can try the following – no guarantees though. Cut off infected portions, well beyond the infected stems, and disinfect pruners after each cut. Spray the entire tree thoroughly with a Bordeaux Mix in early spring according to the instructions. Clean up all foliage before winter, and remove infected parts asap.
 
The Wizard’s Tree
Folklore revolves around mountain ash as it was considered a mystical plant of the wizards. Part of its attraction and magical powers was the ability of the bright fruit remaining on the tree once the leaves had fallen. Its wood was used as dowsing rods for numerous substances especially water hidden underground. The berries were also collected and used as medicine. No wonder it was named The Wizard’s Tree. 
Sorbus 'Joseph Rock',mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
Birds are not too keen on the yellow berries of this 'Joseph Rock' mountain so they last well into the winter.
mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
This 'Joseph Rock' mountain ash shows its fine form.
Sorbus 'Joseph Rock',mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
The pretty yellow berries of a 'Joseph Rock' rowan tree.
mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
Mature rowan trees have a wide open rounded canopy at maturity.
mountain ash,rowan tree,wizard’s tree,Sorbus aucuparia,The Garden Website.com,November Plant of the month,Amanda’s Garden Consulting,Amanda Jarrett,garden website
Stunning autumn foliage combined with bright orange berries makes a great combination.

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  • Home
  • About, Services, Contact
  • Amanda's Garden Blog
  • Ask Amanda
  • Roses
    • Types of Roses
    • Easy Roses
    • Climbing Roses
    • Portland's Rose Test Garden
    • Rose Insects & Diseases
    • Pruning Roses
    • Rose Sawfly
    • Rose Bloom Balling
  • Pruning Basics 101
    • Pruning Tools
    • Winter Pruning
    • Pruning Grapes
    • Pruning Clematis
    • Prune Your Own Garden Registration
  • Lawn Basics
    • Lawn Reno, Seed & Sod
    • Lawn Maintenance Schedule
    • Spring Lawn Care
    • Moss in Lawns
    • Lawn Alternatives
    • Lawn Grub Control
  • Mulch & Mulching
    • Living Mulches - Groundcovers
  • Propagation
    • Growing Seeds Outdoors
    • Growing Seeds Indoors
    • Hardening Off Plants
    • Taking Cuttings
    • Seed & Plant Catalogues
  • How to Garden Topics
    • Fall Garden Chores
    • Planting Know-How
    • Soil Building
    • Soil pH
    • Watering Tips & Techniques
    • Drought Gardening
    • Sheet Mulching, Lasagna Gardening
    • Cover Crops
    • Composting
    • Compost Tea
    • Houseplant Winter Care
    • Hummingbirds in Winter
    • Winterize Your Garden
    • Ponds in Winter
  • Growing Food
    • Spring Veggie Gardening
    • Fall Veggie Garden Clean-up
    • Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting
    • Harvesting
    • Growing Potatoes
    • Winter Veggie Gardening
    • Taming Tomatoes
    • Speeding up Tomato Harvest
    • Tomato Tips
    • Saving Tomato Seeds
    • Raspberries
    • Tomato Troubles
  • Plant Pests 1
    • Plant Pests Part 2 - Controlling Insects
    • Garden Inspections
    • Cloches
    • Helping Pollinators
    • Critters in the Garden
    • Black Sooty Mould
    • Brown Marmorated Stink Bug
    • Dogwood Anthracnose
    • Viburnum Leaf Beetle
    • Dormant Oil/Lime Sulfur
    • Japanese Beetles
    • Peony Blotch/Measles
    • Slugs & Snails
    • Horsetail, the Weed
    • June Beetle
    • Powdery Mildew
    • Soil Solarization
    • Rhododendron Leaf Spot
    • Plant Rusts
    • Black Knot
  • Container Growing
    • Choosing a Container
  • Feeding Plants 101
    • Fertilizers & Ratios
    • Nutritional Deficiencies & Toxicities
    • Organic Plant Food
  • Plant of the Month
    • Spring Flowering Bulbs
    • Colourful Fall Plants
    • Abelia
    • American Sweetgum
    • Ash (Fraxinus) Trees
    • Astilbes
    • Azaleas, Deciduous
    • Aubretia, Rock Cress
    • Aucuba, Japanese Spotted Laurel
    • Autumn Crocus
    • Bear's Breeches
    • Beautyberry, Callicarpa
    • Black-eyed Susans
    • Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis
    • Calla Lilies
    • Catalpas
    • Chinese Windmill Palm
    • Columbine
    • Chrysanthemums
    • Crocuses
    • Dahlias
    • Dawn Redwood
    • Daylily
    • Delphiniums
    • Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa
    • Doghobble, Leucothoe
    • Dwarf Alberta Spruce
    • Dwarf Burning Bush
    • Elderberries, Sambucus
    • Evergreen Clematis
    • English Daisies
    • Fawn Lilies, Erythroniums
    • Fall Asters
    • Flowering Currants
    • Flowering Quince
    • Fritillaria
    • Garden Peonies
    • Garden Phlox
    • Ginkgo biloba
    • Grape-hyacinths
    • Handkerchief or Dove Tree
    • Hardy Fuchsia
    • Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
    • Heathers
    • Heavenly Bamboo
    • Hellebores, Lenten roses
    • Himalayan Sweet Box
    • Hydrangeas, Mophead & Lacecap
    • Jack-in-the-pulpit, Cobra Lily
    • Japanese Anemones
    • Japanese Forest Grass
    • Japanese Maples
    • Japanese Skimmia
    • Japanese spirea
    • Japanese Spurge
    • Kale, ornamental
    • Katsura Trees
    • Kousa Dogwood
    • Laurustinus viburnum
    • Lavenders
    • Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub, Pieris japonica
    • Mediterranean Spurge
    • Mexican Mock Orange
    • Montana Clematis
    • Mountain Ash
    • Oregon Grape Holly
    • Oriental Poppies
    • Oriental Lilies
    • Paperbark Maple
    • Pearl Bush
    • Persian Ironwood
    • Peruvian Lily, Alstroemeria
    • Phalaenopsis, Moth Orchids
    • Photinia, Fraser
    • Poinsettias
    • Primroses
    • Persian Silk Tree
    • Portuguese Laurel
    • Rose of Sharon
    • Saucer Magnolia
    • Shrubby Cinquefoil
    • Sneezeweed, Helenium
    • Snowberry
    • Snowdrops
    • Solomon's Seal
    • Star Magnolia
    • Strawberry Tree, Pacific Madrone
    • Stewartia
    • Torch Lily, Kniphofia uvaria
    • Tree Peonies
    • Tuberous Begonias
    • Variegated Wintercreeper
    • Viburnum, Pink Dawn Bodnant
    • Virginia Creeper
    • Weigela
    • Winterhazel, Corylopsis
    • Winter Camellia, C. sasanqua
    • Winter Daphne
    • Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens
    • Witch Hazel
    • Wood Anemones
    • Yews
  • Garden Tours & Such
    • NW Horticultural Society July Garden Tour 2024
    • Burnaby in Blooms
    • Burnaby's Century Gardens
    • South Delta Garden Club Tour 2023
    • Garden Club Events
  • Website Index
  • Subscribe
  • Need Help?
    • Gift Cards