Olympic Flame rowan
Sorbus ulleungensis - Fruit colour: Orange / Red
- Awards: RHS AGM (current) 2012
Olympic Flame is one of the best small rowans. The highly-feathered leaves start out as a copper green colour, becoming green over the summer, and then an intense orange / red in the autumn.
The small flowers are white, borne in large inflorescences in late spring, and develop into bright red fruitlets.
Unlike most rowans, the fruits do not stay on the tree (persist) into winter, although they are attractive to birds.
Olympic Flame rowan for sale
Pot-grown
All our pot-grown trees are grown for us to our specification by the Frank P Matthews nursery.
All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.
PG12-year 12L pot-grown tree £71.50
Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
Bare-root
BR11-year bare-root tree£44.50
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts
Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.
Tree specification
Photos of trees as supplied |
Tree sizes and forms
Pre-ordering
Pre-order now for delivery in September 2025
Delivery charges
Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.
History
In 2014 Sorbus 'Olympic Flame' was re-classified in the species Sorbus ulleungensis. It was previously listed in the long-established rowan species Sorbus commixta which is native to Japan, Korea, and Sakhalin. The change resulted from research into the wild populations of Sorbus species on Ulleung Island, off the coast of Korea, which identified the new species based on its larger flowers and larger fruits.
Olympic Flame characteristics
- Gardening skillBeginner
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesMild damp climates
- Country of originSouth Korea
- Flowering monthMay
- Blossom colourWhite
- Fruit colourOrange / Red
- AwardsRHS AGM (current)
British-grown trees 
Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK.
Find out more.
In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance.
Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards
for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK.
Find out more
Guaranteed fruit trees
When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden whilst it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund - subject to some conditions.
Find out more.
More about rowan
The Rowans or Mountain Ash trees are a group of mostly small trees growing to about 5m-7m, characterised by their heavily segmented or "pinnate" leaves, which often take on attractive autumn colours. They are also known as Mountain Ash trees, because the leaf has a passing resemblance to the common ash - although they are not related.
They are however distantly related to crab-apples and hawthorns, and most varieties bear clusters of fruitlets which hang on the tree into early winter. The fruits are usually red, but there are also yellow and pink varieties. The berries of many species (especially Sorbus aucuparia) can also be cooked and made into rowan jelly, similar to crab-apple jelly.
All forms of rowan are good sources of food for wildlife from late summer into the early winter.
Rowans are easy to grow, and most are tolerant of a wide range of conditions, including acidic soils, clay soils, wet soils, and exposed situations. Many will tolerate chalk, however they prefer well-drained neutral or acidic soils if possible.
Rowans flower very late - in May or June - and often set fruit by mid-summer. This makes them particularly well-adapted to northern climates with short damp summers and cold winters.
Rowans can be grown successfully in areas with long warm summers, provided you pay attention to watering (particularly with young trees) as they do not tolerate drought.
They can be planted in most locations, but for the best fruit and leaf colours plant in full sun.
They are generally healthy trees, although (reflecting their relation with apples) they can be susceptible to fireblight - fortunately not a common disease in the UK. Scab and aphids can also sometimes be a problem.
The growth habit of most varieties is quite upright, making them good street trees.
Most of our Rowan trees are grafted on to Sorbus aucuparia rootstocks, to help give a consistent size and better tolerance to drought. Some are grafted on Sorbus intermedia which is more suitable for the Whitebeam varieties. Although they are usually just planted and allowed to grow naturally, young Sorbus trees can be cut back and shaped and pruned in a similar way to Malus and Prunus.
