American Mountain Ash is a relatively small, deciduous, understory tree or shrub in the rose family that is native to northeastern North America from Newfoundland to Georgia. In North Carolina, it is typically found in the mountains around forests and rock outcrops (often with Picea, Abies, and Betula alleghaniensis ) and less often in the Piedmont. It typically grows to 15 to 30 feet tall and wide with an open rounded attractive crown. The white spring flowers and bright orange-red fall fruit and foliage add additional interest to this tree. It is relatively short-lived due to fireblight and other diseases and pests. American Mountain Ash requires moist, rich, acidic, well-drained soils in full sun but tolerates partial shade. It is intolerant of hot humid summers and will do best in the mountain areas of NC. It can be used as a shade tree, in naturalized areas or on slopes. Insects, Diseases, or Other Plant Problems: Bacterial fireblight can be a severe problem. Scab can cause significant defoliation. Cankers, crown gall, powdery mildew, and rust may also occur. Insects include borers, aphids, sawfly, and scale. Browsed by deer.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt)
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 15 ft. 0 in. - 35 ft. 0 in. | Width: 8 ft. 0 in. - 20 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
2 - Understory (15-40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Open; Rounded; Spreading
Texture
Fine
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Gold/Yellow; Gray/Silver
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
6-10 inch compound leaves have 9-17 dark yellow-green, 2-4 inch leaflets with unequal wedge-shaped or rounded bases and serrated margins. Undersides are paler. New leaves are downy but become smooth with age. The foliage turns yellow in fall.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Corymb
Flower shape
Urn
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
3-6 inch across dense flattened corymbs of 1/8-1/4 inch urn-shaped creamy white flowers with 4 petals appear in June-July.
Bloom time
Summer
Fruit color
Orange; Red/Burgundy
Fruit type
Pome
Fruit value
Edible; Long-lasting
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Bright red-orange 1/4 inch berry-like pomes ripen in late summer and fall (September-October) and remain on the tree into winter.
Bark color
Light Gray
Bark detail
Smooth gray with numerous lenticels when young. As the tree ages, cracks, splits, and scaly patches develop.
Stem detail
Stems downy at first, later become smooth, brown tinged with red. Stem buds are dark red with hairs.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Northeastern North America
Distribution
USA: CT , GA , IL , MA , MD , ME , MI , MN , NC , NH , NJ , NY , PA , RI , SC , TN , VA , VT , WI , WV Canada: NB , NL , NS , ON , PE , QC
Wildlife value
Fruits are eaten by many birds and mammals. Preferred plant for browsing by moose and white tailed deer.