Slippery Elm
Ulmus rubra Medium tree Zones 3–9 40–70 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests and rich moist slopes in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Black Ash
Fraxinus nigra. Medium tree, 30 to 70 feet, zones 2 to 9; full sun or part shade; average or wet ground.
We do not grow black ash, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Basket ash, swamp ash, brown ash, hoop ash, water ash |
|---|---|
| Form | Medium tree |
| Height, feet | 30 to 70 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 65 |
| Zones | 2 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Wildlife value |
| Flowers | May to June |
| Fruit | Samaras, June to October |
| First crop | 10 to 40 years (good crops at 1 to 8 year intervals) |
| Pollination | Separate male and female trees. Some black ash trees carry only male or only female flowers, while others carry both, so plant several if you want seed. |
| Lifespan | Typically lives 150 years, and the oldest dated one reached 319. Only a tiny share of trees has ever been ring-counted or cross-dated. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on black ash marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Planting season | Spring |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Stream banks, floodplain forests, rich moist slopes, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 22 states and the District of Columbia |
Black ash is native in 22 states and the District of Columbia: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it flowers and fruits, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of black ash's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
River Birch
Betula nigra Medium tree Zones 3–9 40–70 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Peachleaf Willow
Salix amygdaloides Medium tree Zones 2–8 35–60 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Ohio Buckeye
Aesculus glabra Medium tree Zones 3–7 20–40 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests and rich moist slopes in the wild.
Water Locust
Gleditsia aquatica Medium tree Zones 6–10 40–60 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Swamp White Oak
Quercus bicolor Medium tree Zones 3–8 50–60 ft
Shares stream banks, floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, Iowa State University Extension, the USDA PLANTS Database, the US Forest Service and Virginia Tech's dendrology site.