Fraxinus pennsylvanica (Green Ash)


Botanical Information

FamilyOleaceae
GenusFraxinus
Speciespennsylvanica
CategoryWoody
TypeTree (deciduous)
OriginIntroduced into cultivation in 1824.
Pronunciation

Details

USDA Hardiness Zone3 - 9
USDA Hardiness Ref.
Canadian Hardiness Zone1a
Canada Hardiness Ref.
RHS Hardiness ZoneH7 - H3
RHS Hardiness Ref.
Temperature (°C)(-37) - (-1)
Temperature (°F)(-35) - 30
Height15-21 m
Spread10-15 m
GrowthFast
Flowering PeriodApril, May

Description and Growing Information

General DescriptionAdaptable, a very common tree often used for street, lawn and commercial areas. Its hairy branchlets distinguishes it from its close relative, F. Americana. Its wood is very strong and commonly used in manufacturing tool handles in North America.
ID CharacteristicSoftly pyramidal when young, developing an upright-spreading habit at maturity with 3 to 5 main branches.
ShapeUpright, rounded.
LandscapeMost commonly used for street tree planting, lawns, commercial areas, parks, golf courses, and about anywhere you can think of. In a way, this tree has been overplanted because of its adaptability, but is now susceptible to the emerald ash borer.
PropagationSeed requires warm (20°C), moist stratification for 60 days followed by 120 days at 5°C.
CultivationMedium wet, well drained soils in full sun.
PestsLeaf spot, leaf rust, cankers, carpenter worm, lilac borer, fall webworm, ash flower gall and brown-headed ash sawfly. Emerald Ash Borer is now a major pest. May be susceptible to ash dieback (Charlara fraxinea).
HabitatNova Scotia to Minnesota, south to Northern Florida and Texas.
Bark/Stem DescriptionAsh grey to grey brown.
Flower/Leaf Bud DescriptionDark rusty brown, wooly and set above the leaf scar.
Leaf DescriptionOpposite, pinnately compound, 5 to 9 leaflets and up to 30 cm long. Acuminate, narrow to broadly-cuneate, lustrous medium to dark green and essentially glabrous above, light green and pubescent beneath.
Flower DescriptionDioecious, usually unisexual, apetalous, calyx minute, corolla absent, green to purple in colour.
Fruit DescriptionA winged samara, 2.5 - 5 cm long, with the wings extending half way or more down the cylindrical body.
Colour DescriptionLeaves are a shiny medium to dark green in the summer, changing to yellow in autumn.
Texture DescriptionMedium in leaf, quite coarse in winter because of lack of lateral branches.

Photographs