I have a white berried one as well as the wild version and the white berries are all left to fall to the ground. Get lots of seedlings coming up; will have to save a few in hopes of an interesting cross
I like the white ones, and the pink ones. I have very young trees of Sorbus olivacea (pink) and Sorbus gonggashanica (white) but they aren't big enough to give much of a show yet. A good place to see lots of different ones is Ness Botanic Gardens, if you can get there at the right time of year.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I just think ,grow what pleases you ,the birds will look after themselves as they always have for hundreds of years. As long as the berries on your plants aren’t poisonous to you ,take your choice to suit your garden palette , birds aren’t daft they eat what they know are good.
Just to update what I went for….I bought 10 native red berried rowan for my woodland. I have planted 5, a couple to give away and the others are in pots being looked after/ kept as spares.
I think I’ll go for a pink pagoda as a garden tree, later when the garden has more form, but preferred the red ones in the woodland, plus they are a lot cheaper as hedging companies sell them.
An excellent choice, the birds will love them and the trees will protect you! See below extract from the Woodland Trust:
Mythology and symbolism
Rowan was once widely planted by houses as a protection against witches. The colour red was considered to be the best colour for fighting evil, and so the rowan’s bright red berries have been associated with magic and witches. In Ireland, it was planted near houses to protect them against spirits, and in Wales rowan trees were planted in churchyards. Cutting down a rowan was considered taboo in Scotland.
The wood was used for stirring milk to prevent the milk curdling, and as a pocket charm against rheumatism. It was also used to make divining rods.
(There was a feature on last night's Countryfile about making Rowan berry honey - something else to think about!)
Red's OK but if you're going to go with red, you may as well get some native Sorbus aucuparia whips or bare-root feathered stock, you could buy several with change from a tenner! I do like S. sargentiana's fat bunches of berries though.
I have a soft spot for the white forms, they look more striking than the red ones to me.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
I'm intrigued that birds definitely prefer some S.aucuparia berries to others. We have 2 native rowans which are stripped of their berries before they're properly red... but there's another rowan, identical to my eye, in a field a quarter of a mile away that keeps its berries for weeks.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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Mythology and symbolism
Rowan was once widely planted by houses as a protection against witches. The colour red was considered to be the best colour for fighting evil, and so the rowan’s bright red berries have been associated with magic and witches. In Ireland, it was planted near houses to protect them against spirits, and in Wales rowan trees were planted in churchyards. Cutting down a rowan was considered taboo in Scotland.
The wood was used for stirring milk to prevent the milk curdling, and as a pocket charm against rheumatism. It was also used to make divining rods.
(There was a feature on last night's Countryfile about making Rowan berry honey - something else to think about!)
The native is also tough as old boots, yet beautiful as well. What's not to like?
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have a soft spot for the white forms, they look more striking than the red ones to me.