I have a mountain ash, possibly European, that is about 30 - 40 ft tall. We have been in the home for 20 years and it has been there longer than that. It is always late to lose its leaves sometimes not until December or January. We have a smaller mountain ash in the front yard that is only 25 ft and loses all its leaves by November. The taller one I previously described still has leaves now in March, approximately 50% left. It has never carried its leaves this long. We have had numerous very strong winds but little comes down. Is there something wrong with the tree and should we be concerned? I am in Kelowna.
Can you post some photos? There are some ashes from subtropical areas that are evergreen, not sure if they'd be hardy in BC though.
Poster is of course asking about a Sorbus, almost certainly S. aucuparia. Leaf retention might be caused by pathogenic infestation but considering the timing may have been due instead to cold spring and early winter cold this region had last year.
Here is a photo of the tree. The leaves have most definitely turned brown but hare hanging on for dear life. Seems to be budding up normally. Have noticed a "Curly Willow" in the neighborhood with brown leaves hanging also, so suspect it is weather related as Ron posted. Thank you for the replies.
Sorbus aucuparia. Persisting leaves harmless. Cutting half of it away and leaving a big stub would not have done it any good. However, if the end of the stub has been covered by new bark at this point then tree should be left as is.
Yep, pic shows Sorbus aucuparia, which is a rowan, not an ash (Fraxinus). Note the presence of berries, which ashes don't have. The old leaves were probably frosted just before normal leaf drop initiation, preventing leaf drop from occurring. The tree will be OK and the buds should leaf out normally. The old leaves will likely drop at the same time.
"European mountain ash" and "ash" are two different sets of words. In this age of internet searches, should a responder have a question about terms being used it is a quick and simple matter to look up a supposedly unfamiliar term and see what a poster might be talking about.
Hi Ron B. I wanted to explain why we left the large stub after pruning. The branch that was there, had bark inclusion and was at great risk of dropping onto our house. We consulted a certified arbourist/certified tree assessor, and he suggested that we leave the stump because pruning it to where it should have been, would mean in the trees natural healing process there would be a significant amount of decay inside the tree that may compromise its strength. Of course he explained it much better than I have. Of course now we are burdened with cutting away the constant appearance of sprouts from that stump but is better than losing the tree. This pruning was done March 2008 and is healing over. We would have removed the tree but our temperatures in the summer are between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius and we do not have air conditioning and it is our only source of shade. We were aware that pruning a tree of that size and age was not the best thing, and should be done when the tree is young, but there was no choice. Unfortunately all trees in our yard were improperly pruned many years before we arrived and we are left to try and make the best of it. Thanks for you help.
Apparently cabling was not considered. Due to resulting cutting off of the one trunk - too far out - rotting starting in stub could then extend into remaining trunk. Probably best to leave sprouts in order for them to support growth of new bark over cut end, it will be some time before any of them are big. Due to risk of larger ones shearing off at weak point of attachment later it might be best to periodically remove the largest. To understand what you are now dealing with realize that trees do not heal. Major wounds are always a threat to a tree due to the admission of agents of decay. Response is to cover the outside opening with new bark, and to wall off the cavity being formed - the area of decay is not filled with new live tissue. Different trees have varying degrees of success with this, with deformity and failure (snapping off or dying while still standing) being not infrequent eventual outcomes.
