THIS IS A NATIVE TREE APPROPRIATE FOR A HEDGEROW
Size: White ash is the tallest of all the ashes, reaching 75 to 100 feet at maturity. Green ash grows from 50 to 75 feet tall. Both spread about 2/3 their height. The white ash is the slowest growing ash, however, adding about 18 inches of height a year. It lives longer than the other ashes, 150 to 200 years. Green ash may grow as fast as 2 1/2 to 3 feet a year, living only 100 to 150 years.
Foliage: Ash trees are deciduous; they lose their leaves in the fall. Narrow and lance-like, they grow along small stems, 5 or 7 to a stem. They are dull on the surface, pale and smooth underneath. On first appearance in early May they are light green, which deepens to a medium green in summer. Their fall display is a golden yellow, sometimes with purple mottling.
Flowers and Berries: Ash trees flower in late April and early May. They produce clusters of deep purple blooms just before the leaves emerge, which by August yield to drooping clusters of winged seeds. These inch-long pale brown seeds hang on the trees until late February. Small animals like squirrels and chipmunks and some songbirds appreciate the profuse seeds even if gardeners are annoyed when they produce seedlings all over the yard.
