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Our Common Ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is a broad, spreading, deciduous tree growing at a fast rate to 25 metres in height by 20 metres spread. This rapid growth and the ability to re-sprout after being coppiced (cut down) made ash a valuable renewable tree to the early Irish. After cutting, the hard wood was allowed to rest and renew for about ten years before the farmer's saw came tearing back for that inevitable second cut.
Ash is, and has been one of our most widely planted broadleaves for use as a raw material in the production of coach axles, furniture, tool handles, oars, walking sticks and, more recently, snooker cues. Being a favoured wood for the construction of these pieces due to it flexibility, strength and resistance to splitting, it comes as no surprise that ash wood has been used throughout the history of Ireland for making hurleys. At a rough estimate, one acre of ash woodland can produce in excess of 1,500 hurleys, more than enough to cater for a few unfortunate and sometimes intentional breakages during an All-Ireland final.
There is no doubting the strength of smooth ash as a working wood, however, the tree itself can be prone to breakage if left unpruned. Without the intervention of the gardener or forester, many branches will tend to originate from the same position on the trunk. This makes them prone to sudden breakage and devastating damage if weighty.
A careful ash grower will endeavour to allow less than 15 individual main branches to grow from the trunk, all well spaced. Beneath a poorly and dangerously branched ash tree is not the place to park your new Merc or BMW, so in my opinion the ash really is not suitable for car park planting. This now brings me to the question of where can we accommodate this native within our site?
Well, native Ash can be grown in full sun or partial shade and prefers moist, deep, rich soil, although, I have on occasion seen gardeners succeed in growing the tree in possibly poorly drained and certainly low quality heavy soils.
Why not create a beautiful garden picture by planting ash in a woodland section of your garden complete with under plantings of shade tolerant shrubs, perennials and bulbs. Luckily, for its undergrowth, the tree has a light canopy and casts little shade. Gardeners and farmers can also use ash for planting in exposed or coastal locations where other trees struggle. Here the tree will succeed but often becomes contorted and shaped by the prevailing wind.
Don't expect the ash to provide you with much shelter from the wind though, as it is one of the latest trees to leaf up and one of the first to shed. Poor for shelter but great for allowing light in. Even though the leaves only last from May to October, they are really quite pretty, being opposite and lance-like with pointed tips. The black leaf buds, however, are my favourite attribute of our native ash, their distinctive black colour providing interest to the garden whilst leafless over winter.
So go on, give the ash a go. It's available right now in a multitude of sizes throughout all good garden centres and nurseries. Until next week, happy gardening and remember that a weed is just a plant in the wrong place.
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