Planting a Rowan Tree in a Country Garden

Why the Rowan Suits a Country Garden

The rowan, Sorbus aucuparia, is one of the most generous trees you can plant in a rural setting. You will also hear it called the mountain ash, though it is no relation to the ash at all — the name comes from the similar feathered leaves. It is a true native, at home in hedgerows, moorland edges and windswept hillsides, which tells you plenty about how tough it is.

For a small garden it is close to ideal. Rowans are naturally slender, with an upright habit and a canopy that rarely spreads beyond three or four metres, even on a tree that eventually reaches eight or nine metres in height. That means you can enjoy a proper tree without losing half the lawn to shade. You get three seasons of interest for your trouble: flat heads of creamy white blossom in May, which hum with bees and hoverflies; clusters of scarlet berries from late August; and butter-yellow and orange foliage before the leaves drop.

There is a practical side too. Rowan berries are taken eagerly by blackbirds, redwings, fieldfares and, in a good waxwing year, flocks of visitors you would otherwise never see. If you fancy making rowan jelly — traditionally served with venison or lamb — pick a modest share and leave the rest for the birds.

Choosing the Right Spot

Rowans are unfussy about soil. They will cope with sand, clay, loam, and even quite thin, stony ground, and they manage in anything from full sun to light shade. What they dislike is sitting wet. A waterlogged hollow or a spot where the drain runs will shorten a rowan's life considerably, so if your ground is heavy, work in plenty of organic matter and consider planting on a slight mound.

Give some thought to what is underneath and around your chosen site:

• Keep the tree at least five or six metres from house foundations, drains and septic systems. Rowan roots are not aggressive, but any tree needs room.
• Avoid planting directly over a patio, path or parked car. Ripe berries drop and stain, and the birds that eat them make a mess of their own.
• Bear in mind prevailing wind. Rowans are wind-hardy, but a tree on an exposed western edge will grow more slowly and lean.
• Think about sightlines. A rowan placed where you see it from the kitchen window will earn its keep on grey November mornings.

Also check what is already growing nearby. Rowan tolerates competition better than most young trees, but grass and established shrubs will take the water and nutrients a new tree needs.

Planting Well in the First Place

Bare-root trees, lifted and sold between November and March, establish fastest and cost least. Container-grown trees can go in at almost any time, provided the ground is not frozen or bone dry, but autumn planting is always best — the soil is still warm, rain does the watering, and roots get a head start before spring.

Dig a hole roughly twice the width of the root ball but no deeper than the roots were previously sitting. This matters more than most people realise: a tree planted too deep, with the root collar buried, will sulk and often die. Fork the base of the hole to break up any pan, then backfill with the excavated soil mixed with a couple of spadefuls of well-rotted manure or garden compost. Do not over-enrich the hole — a tree in a rich pocket of compost may grow soft and leggy.

Firm the soil gently with your heel, water thoroughly, and mulch with a ring of bark chippings or compost about five to eight centimetres deep. Keep the mulch clear of the trunk by a hand's width to prevent rot. On an exposed site, stake for the first two or three years, using a short stake driven in at an angle and a proper tree tie with a spacer.

Protecting a Young Tree from Grazing

This is where country gardeners lose more young trees than anywhere else. A rowan's bark, buds and soft new shoots are highly palatable, and rabbits, hares, deer and livestock will all browse them.

• Rabbits and hares: fit a spiral tree guard around the trunk from the base upwards, or a cylinder of galvanised mesh at least 60 centimetres high, pressed firmly into the soil.
• Deer: mesh guards need to be around 1.2 metres tall, and wider than the canopy at its current size. Deer also strip bark with their antlers, so check ties and guards each autumn.
• Sheep, cattle and horses: a sturdy cage of stakes and stock netting is the only reliable answer. Allow at least a metre of clear ground around the trunk.
• Mice and voles: these will gnaw the bark at ground level, often under snow or deep mulch. Keep mulch pulled back from the trunk over winter.
• Strimmers: a mulch ring saves endless frustration. One careless swipe at the base can ring-bark a young tree beyond saving.

Looking After It Through the First Few Years

Water a new rowan properly for its first two summers. In a dry spell, give it ten to twenty litres a week, poured slowly at the base rather than sprinkled over the leaves. Keep a metre-wide circle clear of grass and weeds, and replenish the mulch each spring.

Pruning should be minimal. Remove only dead, damaged or crossing branches in late winter, and leave the natural shape alone. Rowans respond badly to hard cutting and rarely need it.

Blossom usually appears within three or four years, with a proper crop of berries from around five to eight. Plant a second rowan nearby, or a named cultivar, and pollination improves — you will get a heavier, earlier set of fruit.

After that, the tree largely looks after itself. Feed it nothing, water it in only the fiercest droughts, and enjoy the knowledge that in a decade or two you will have given your corner of the countryside a tree that feeds the birds, shelters insects and lights up the autumn. That is a decent return on a morning's digging.