Fraxinus spaethiana - Spaeth's Ash, Spaeth Ash

The Fraxinus spaethiana is a species very rare in cultivation also called Spaeth's Ash originating from China and Japan. It forms a large tree of which a few rare specimens can be found as street trees in England, Denmark, and Sweden. Few ashes have more beautiful foliage than this one. Its large, beautifully pinnate leaves provide light and pleasant shade during the summer. It is a fairly hardy tree that likes bright exposures and deep, moisture-retaining soils.

The Fraxinus spaethiana, also known as Wide-Petiole Ash, is a tree in the olive family, like the olive tree and lilac. It is native to mountainous regions between 1200 and 2800 m in China (Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan) and Japan (Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu) where it often dominates the mountainous riparian forest habitat in which it is found. It forms a large tree that can reach 20 to 28 m in height at maturity, with a straight trunk whose smooth bark is greenish-gray, darkening and cracking with age. The shape of this ash tree is initially pyramidal, rounding with age to become generally conical. It develops a vertical and rather short trunk, well cleared, topped with a round crown, rather closed when the tree is young, opening up over the years. The decussate deciduous leaves measure 10 to 30 cm long with a 5 to 6 cm petiole. They are composed of 7 to 11 sessile or nearly sessile, oblong to elliptic, slightly leathery leaflets. The margins are serrated and the leaves are veined. Shiny in appearance, they are bright green with hints of yellowish-green in early summer. In autumn, they turn golden yellow for 3 to 5 weeks if strong winds do not carry them away. Flowering occurs in spring, before the appearance of foliage, in the form of cream-white panicles. After pollination, they give way to 2 to 4.5 cm long samaras.

Spaeth's Ash is a large tree, ideal for planting in isolation in a large garden or park or as an alignment tree, where its foliage and elegant shape give it true ornamental qualities. It provides filtered shade and light and colour against dark hedges with other golden trees. Perfectly hardy and with limited requirements, it tolerates any non-burning exposure and adapts to any ordinary soil, including limestone, but its growth will be greater in fertile, deep, and moist soil.