Green Ash

Fraxinus pennsylvanica

Leaves: Deciduous.  Pinnately compound leaves 10 to 12 inches long. 7 to 9 leaflets each 2 to 5 inches long, 1 to 2 inches wide, ovate with pointed tips. Bright medium to dark green summer color. Yellow fall color.

Bark/Twigs: Ash gray to gray-brown colored bark. Furrowed into close diamond shaped areas.  

Flowers/Fruit: Inconspicuous flowers. Dioecious - species have both male and female trees. Female trees produce 1 to 2 inches long, ¼ inch wide seeds which look like a canoe paddle.

Mature size and shape: Large. 50 to 60 feet high x 25 to 30 feet wide. Slightly pyramidal when young, developing into an upright-spreading habit. Crown is extremely irregular in shape.

General information/special features: Plant in full sun. Grows in almost all soil types. Tolerates salt, drought, alkaline soil, and wind.

Landscape use and maintenance: Good shade tree. Grows anywhere, but needs a very large space. Fast growing rate. Average maintenance. Transplants readily. Buy male varieties to avoid messy seeds.

USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 to 9

Family/Origin: Oleaceae – Olive. Native from the Great Plains east, including southern Canada.

Campus Use: Very common. Can be found in President's Circle and west of George Thomas (Bld 5).