Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) - On Hold

Ash (Fraxinus excelsior)

Common Ash, Fraxinus excelsior, are fast growing vaulting domed trees will typically only live up to 200 years. They are distributed throughout Britain, but are shade intolerant and tend to grow on calcerous soils. Ash trees will, however, cope with exposed sites. Ash "keys" encourage birds and small mammals; a "keyless" year was said to presage a calamity; there was said not to be a key in the kingdom in 1648, the year before Charles I's execution.
Ash are often treated as "weed trees", but come into leaf when the days are longer rather than warmer, and consequently now risk being crowded out of the woodland canopy. It also means that Ash woods are associated with a rich understorey. 

Curiously, Ash trees can change sex from season to season, or even have flowers of different sexes on the same branch. There are many ancient legends and rituals associated with the Ash, which in pre-Christian days was treated as a healing tree and as proof against witch craft.

The wood has had many applications, typically when strength needs to be combined with elasticity - from Achilles' spear to old fashioned hockey sticks and snooker cues. Helpfully and oddly Ash wood makes for good fuel, burning green, which is why we include Ash Trees in our trees for wood fuel collection and why it used to be coppiced. Gypsies in particular valued it as a Yule log, as they believed that Christ as a baby was bathed before an ash twig fire. 

Beware the Ash's invasive root systems; although the Vikings thought they reached down to Hell they are actually shallow but extensive.

Provenance certificates are available on request for the smaller size Ash trees, which are all sourced from the Southwest of England.
Smaller Sizes Supplier: Perrie Hale Forest Nursery
Standards Suppliers: R.V.Roger
NOT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE due to Ash Dieback disease
We donate 50% of our profit on Ash trees to The Tree Council

Please note that standard sizes relate to tree girths in cm. See our planting and size guide for details and tips on planting Ash trees.

These Ash trees are bare root, and are consequently available for delivery from November until March. During the lifting season there may be up to two weeks delay between placing the order and dispatching, due to weather conditions or pressure of orders, which are dealt with in date sequence. Orders for Ash placed between March and October are confirmed for dispatch from November.