Habitat

• native to eastern North America
• hardy to zone 3
• a significant forest tree species in the northeastern U.S.

Habit and Form

• a large deciduous tree
• 60' to 70' tall
• shape is oval in youth, becoming more rounded with age
• branching is upright and spreading
• branches are distributed evenly in the crown

Summer Foliage

• opposite, pinnately compound leaves
• leaves are 8" to 15" long
• leaves have 5 to 9 leaflets
• leaflets can be anywhere from 2" to 6" long
• leaflets have a narrow ovate shape and acuminate leaf tips
• leaf color is dark green above and lighter below

Autumn Foliage

• turning yellowish with an overlay of burgundy or purple
• can be quite showy on the best specimens

Flowers

• dioecious, with male and female plants
• small flowers that are green, purple and black
• not ornamentally important
• bloom time is mid to late April

Fruit

• female plants produce samaras
• large numbers of fruit can be produced
• samaras are 1" to 2" long and narrow
• some describe them as paddle-shaped
• color changes from green to tan as they mature
• not ornamentally important

Bark

• relatively attractive
• uniformly furrowed with even diamond-shaped pattern
• color is light to dark gray

Culture

• full sun
• prefers moist, deep, fertile soils for best growth
• quite soil adaptable
• soil pH is not critical
• easily transplanted and established
• tolerant of poorly-drained soils

Landscape Use

• male plants are preferred for landscape purposes
• lawn tree
• shade tree
• street tree
• difficult growing sites
• excellent for parks and campuses
• wood is used for baseball bats

Liabilities

• female trees produce lots of seed, leading to numerous unwanted seedlings
• ash dieback (mycoplasma)
• ash borers
• ash flower galls (male plants) caused by a mite
• ash yellows

ID Features

• opposite leaves
• pinnately compound leaves
• female plants with paddle-shaped samaras
• uniform, diamond-shaped ridge and furrow pattern on bark
• leaf scars with a notch in them at top
• twigs gray and buds brown
• twigs stout

Propagation

• by bud grafting
• by seed

Cultivars/Varieties

'Autumn Applause' (Autumn Applause®) - This popular form produces a rounded, dense crown held by a straight trunk. The mature height is 50' tall and fall color is reported to be very good -- deep red.

'Greenspire' (Greenspire®) - This is an upright, narrow form that reaches 40' tall and 30' wide. Summer foliage is a good dark green and fall color is dark orange.

'Jeffnor' (Northern Blaze™) - A Canadian selection, this seedless plant is notable for its extreme hardiness and resistance to winter damage. The growth habit is upright-oval to 60' tall and perhaps half as wide, and the fall color reportedly is purple.

'Jungiger' (Autumn Purple®) - This seedless ash is among the most common commercial selections and one of the best. It grows rapidly and forms a rounded crown 50' tall and slightly less wide. The leaves are a fine deep green in summer, becoming red-purple come fall.

'Skycole' (Skyline®) - Good form and growth rate are this tree's primary attributes, as it grows symmetrically to 50' tall with a strong central leader and lustrous green leaves that turn orange or red in fall.