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Sorbus wardii rowan

  • Fruit colour: Yellow / Orange

The main feature of Sorbus wardii is undoubtedly the large grey-green leaves, which give the tree an elegant presence throughout the spring and summer. The leaves take on golden hues in the autumn.

Clusters of white flowers are borne in late spring, somewhat larger than other Whitebeams, followed by persistent yellow-orange berries.

Sorbus wardii 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 7L pot-grown tree £66.50
    Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season
  • PG22-year 12L pot-grown tree £71.50
    Grown for us by Frank P Matthews nursery
    Large tree (3m-5m after 10 years)
    Out of stock
    Please try next season

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

Delivery charges

Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.

Growing and Training

Sorbus wardii does best in full sun. Once established it is fairly tolerant of drought conditions.

History

Sorbus wardii is named after Frank Kingdon-Ward, an English botanist who made numerious expeditions to Tibet, China, and India in the first half of the 20th century. It was discovered in the Himalayas of northern Burma. It is sometimes considered to be a form of Sorbus thibetica, the Tibetan Whitebeam (which Kingdon-Ward also collected on his travels), rather than a species in its own right, but the golden berries are rather different from the yellow-brown berries of Sorbus thibetica.


Sorbus wardii characteristics

Growing

  • Gardening skillBeginner

Problems

  • Disease resistanceGood

Identification

  • Country of originChina
  • Period of origin1900 - 1949
  • Flowering monthMay
  • Blossom colourWhite
  • Fruit colourYellow / Orange

British-grown trees Trees grown in the UK.

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.


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