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Mountain ash problem
kdb2203
Posts: 1
Is it too late for my Rowan tree to be saved? Several of the branches have died over the winter and I have cut these out. The remaining branches have very small leaves but are still flowering and fruiting although these appear to have decreased in number also. This decrease in leaf size has been going on for 3-4 years but the branch dying seems to have accelerated this past year. I can see no signs of canker and the leaves appear healthy. I am on heavy clay and the tree is next to a wall if this is of any help. Thank you.
0
Posts
I had a tree surgeon around to look at my willow (which has to be taken down) and we were talking over trees. He took a look at my rowan and my whitebeam and commented that the Sorbus family (of which both are members) die a slow death....both of mine are healthy at the moment but it makes me wonder about yours.
He didn't say why they die this way, when he comes back to fell my cracked willow I'll ask him some more.
Mike, a rowan is not related to the ash family and cannot be suffering from ash dieback. It is known as a mountain ash but belongs to the Sorbus genus. Ash is from a completely different genus - Fraxinus.
I am having a similar problem with my Sorbus (a whitebeam) over the past two years and have cut out dead wood in the winter. It has both less and smaller leaves and one area is a different shade of green - more lime than the usual grey-green. It has flowered and is producing berries. In this case the bark is pitted and fissured so is this canker? I should be very interested to know what is going on - even though I appreciate it is probably too late to save this beautiful tree.
From past experience of planting Rowan in different soil conditions they will not tolerate very dry positions or waterlogging. Dig into the ground near the tree to check what the soil is like.