Fraxinus ornus - Manna Ash - €8 per plant

Fraxinus ornus is a small-medium deciduous tree, producing really stunning and scented blooms around the same time as it leafs out, attracting several useful pollinating insects. In the wild it occurs principally on slopes, so it is potentially a goods pioneer plant. Resistant to a variety of conditions and is very wind resistant. Forms a dense canopy which is attractive to birds and makes a great candidate for a lower canopy woodland garden.To order this plant please contact us [email protected].  

Context

  • native region: S. Europe to W. Asia.
  • native habitat: Mixed woodland, thickets and rocky places mainly on limestone
  • family: Oleaceae

Pest and Predators

  • Curently decimated throughout the United States and parts of Canada by a ruthlessly-harmful pest called the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).Females lay eggs in bark crevices on ash trees, and larvae feed underneath the bark of ash trees to emerge as adults in one to two years.​

Needs, tolerances 

  • Light: Semi-shade or Full sun
  • soil pH: Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils 
  • USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 - 6
  • Tolerates dry or moist soil
  • Can tolerate drought
  • Can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure​
  • ​Can tolerate atmospheric pollution

Known hazards 

  • No serious threats have been documented but contact with the sap has caused skin or systemic allergic reactions in some people

Overview


  • Deciduous Tree growing to 9m by 6m at a slow rate ​
  • It is in flower May
  • Seeds ripen September - December
  • The species is dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant
  • ​Wind pollinated
  • Not self fertile
  • Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
  • Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in heavy clay
  • It can grow in semi-shade or full sun.
  •  It prefers dry or moist soil.

Characteristics

  • form: Deciduous Tree
  • layer: Lower canopy
  • habit: Crown spreading oval to round
  • height (m): 9

Products & Uses

  • Flowers: Creamy-white very fragrant flowers. Flowers are scented and attract a variety of pollinating insects despite the fact even though they do not produce nectar
  • Seeds: The fruits are samaras, between 15-25mm long, slender, green in colour until leaf fall, then brown in the autumn
  • Wood: Wood mainly used for small tool handles and household items and
    manna ash forests usually are coppiced for producing firewood In southern Mediterranean
    regions.
  • Leaves: The foliage is olive-green and changes to stunning yellows and deep pinks in autumn
  • Medicinal: Historically used as a laxative

Functions, behaviours

  • Used for afforestation of degraded sites growing well on slopes
  • Highly ornamental​
  • The ability to resprout after cutting makes Manna Ash well adapted to grow in areas disturbed by animal browsing, wildfires, erosion, or logging, etc.
If you would like this plant please send an email to [email protected] with your order. 
Balkan Ecology Project