The Beauty and Benefits of Growing Rowan

Growing up in the Matanuska Susitna Valley, my folks always looked for ways to teach us how to be self sufficient.  We had a large garden, chickens, and at times ducks, geese, pigs and other farm animals.  It was always a struggle to make these things produce any produce!  When the garden was growing well, the pig would get out and eat all of the broccoli and cabbage items and spoon up everything they didnt eat with their goofy hooves.  Or, a moose and calf would get into the garden and eat everything in sight including figuring out how to dig up the carrots!  They would eat the fruit and trees, berries and bushes, and just about anything else in sight.  The bears even got into the chicken pen once and ate all of the chicken feed and a few chickens!

The only thing they wouldnt eat and still dont are the Rowan trees.  Also known as Mountain Ash, Rowan will grow just about anywhere, and in just about any type of soil!  As you may know - my soil is clay and sand for the most part, and I work hard to supplement every year and find ways to supplement the soil so I can get anything to grow.  The Rowan doesnt care!  It grows where ever the birds drop the seeds or anywhere that you plant it!  It has even survived in pots on the greenhouse patio here in Big Lake!  The moose will eat the berries but not the leaves.  The leaves and twigs have cyanide in them so they will kill the moose if they eat those parts.  Occasionally you will see a calf moose try to eat the twigs and leaves and that usually means they lost their momma early!

The flowers are beautiful and have a distinct aroma - I happen to love the smell but may people dont like the smell of these flowers.  They are lovely when the whole tree is covered with them.

The berries are wonderful as well and they can be used for a number of things.   Juice, jelly, tea, and dried for decorations.  It has been rumored that the wand that Harry Potter used was made of this type of ash!  It has a very interesting legacy as holding many magical properties. The birds love the berries, especially the Cedar Waxwings.  They come to the trees in November and December and feed on the berries.  It is so fun to watch the birds fluttering around the Rowans.  This tree is definitely a wildlife landscape tree to plant if for no other reason than the birds that it draws.

As you can see - even in winter with frost on them the leaves and berries are beautiful! This tree is very hardy and lives in Big Lake, Alaska where it has been -52 degrees before (probably colder but I'm pretty sure I had my head under the covers at that point)!  

(Photo credit for above photo used with permission from Ron Nicholl Photography)

If you don't have these locally that you can get yourself some from a number of sources.  I recently got some for the gardens at out local Rec Center from Cold Stream Farms  http://www.coldstreamfarm.net/c-56-ash.aspx  and they were a great resource - shipped at the right time, packed well and arrived healthy and hardy!  Prices were great and shipping wasn't astronomical either.

Grab a few and plant in a grouping. You wont be sorry, and your friends will want some as well!