# Pumpkin Ash (Fraxinus profunda)

> Pumpkin ash, Fraxinus profunda: a large tree of 60 to 85 feet for zones 5 to 9, when it flowers and fruits, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/pumpkin-ash/

![Pumpkin ash compound leaves with hanging clusters of green, immature samaras](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/pumpkin-ash-1000.jpg?v=6588c465 "Pumpkin ash leaves and young samaras in Elgin County, Ontario, on August 28, 2021. The seeds mature in late summer and fall between October and December.")
*Photo: Wdvanhem, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFraxinus_profunda_Elgin_ON.jpg))*

Large tree, 60 to 85 feet, zones 5 to 9; full sun or part shade; average or wet ground.

We do not grow pumpkin 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

| Fact | Pumpkin Ash |
| --- | --- |
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 60 to 85 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 50 |
| Zones | 5 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Average or wet ground |
| Growth | Fast |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value |
| Flowers | April to May |
| Fruit | Samaras, August to December |
| First crop | 9 to 10 years (the youngest seed-bearing ages reported) |
| Pollination | Separate male and female trees. Male and female flowers grow on separate trees, so a female tree bears seed only with a male nearby. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, the coast, swamps and wet flats |
| Native in | 21 states and the District of Columbia |

Pumpkin ash is native in 21 states and the District of Columbia: [Alabama](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AL), [Arkansas](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AR), [Delaware](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DE), [Florida](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=FL), [Georgia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=GA), [Illinois](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IL), [Indiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=IN), [Kentucky](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=KY), [Louisiana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=LA), [Maryland](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MD), [Michigan](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MI), [Mississippi](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MS), [Missouri](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MO), [New Jersey](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NJ), [New York](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NY), [North Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NC), [Ohio](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OH), [Pennsylvania](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=PA), [South Carolina](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=SC), [Tennessee](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=TN), [Virginia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=VA) and [the District of Columbia](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=DC). 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](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=pumpkin-ash): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=pumpkin-ash): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=pumpkin-ash&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=pumpkin-ash): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=pumpkin-ash): the planting-window tool
- [When it flowers and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=pumpkin-ash): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=pumpkin-ash): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=pumpkin-ash:5): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=pumpkin-ash): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=pumpkin-ash): the tree age estimator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=pumpkin-ash): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Willow Oak](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/willow-oak/index.html.md) (*Quercus phellos*): large tree, 40 to 75 feet, zones 5 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Black Gum (Tupelo)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-gum/index.html.md) (*Nyssa sylvatica*): large tree, 40 to 70 feet, zones 4 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Water Hickory](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/water-hickory/index.html.md) (*Carya aquatica*): large tree, 80 to 100 feet, zones 5 to 10. Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Swamp Tupelo](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/swamp-tupelo/index.html.md) (*Nyssa biflora*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 6 to 9. Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Water Tupelo](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/water-tupelo/index.html.md) (*Nyssa aquatica*): large tree, 60 to 100 feet, zones 6 to 10. Shares floodplain forests, swamps and wet flats in the wild.
- [Every companion of pumpkin ash in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=pumpkin-ash)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Woody Plant Seed Manual and the USDA PLANTS Database.