Rowan

Rowan: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Small tree of 5–15 m with an open, oval crown; sometimes multi-stemmed.

Leaf

Alternate, pinnate with 9–19 narrow, toothed leaflets. Buds purplish-brown and felted.

Bark

Smooth, shiny silver-grey.

Flower

Flat heads of white flowers in May.

Fruit

Clusters of orange-red berries from August; a feast for thrushes.

Difference from ash

Ash has opposite leaves and black buds.

Flowering: May · Harvest and fruit: August–October · Pruning: November–March

Identify by feature: Pinnate leaves · White blossom · Orange berries

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Ash Fraxinus excelsior: leaves are opposite and the buds are black. Difference from ash

Why grow it?

• Berries from August for thrushes, blackbirds and starlings, and in some winters for waxwings.
• White flower heads in May for bees, hoverflies and beetles.
• A small tree that fits into a small garden too.
• Lovely autumn colour, and little pruning needed.

Rowan: where does it grow best?

• Sun to partial shade; it flowers and fruits most freely in sun.
• Preferably acid, light soil that doesn’t dry out; it is less keen on heavy, wet clay and hot, bone-dry spots.
• With a crown of about 6 m it suits a small garden, the edge of a lawn or a hedgerow.
• It tolerates wind well and also grows in cold, exposed places.

Light

Sun or partial shade

Legal basis

Acid soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

12 m tall, 6 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Silver birch: A light native tree for the same acid soil; together an airy little copse.
• Alder buckthorn: Flowers for a long time for bees and also bears berries for birds.
• Heather: Flowers purple in August–September, as the berries colour; place it in full sun at the edge of the crown.
• Common honeysuckle: Climbs through a hedge or shrub next to the rowan and is fragrant in the evening for moths.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Together a mixed native hedge, good for birds and insects: hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, dog rose, common dogwood, guelder rose, wild privet, field maple
• Tolerate the shade under this tree: oregon grape, rhododendron, oleaster, japanese skimmia, garden privet, camellia, laurustinus, box-leaved honeysuckle

Best kept away from

• Fruit trees that can catch fireblight from this plant: apple, pear, nashi pear

Rowan: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant from November to March, bare-root or with a root ball.
2. Dig a generous planting hole and mix in some leaf mould.
3. Put a stake on the windward side and tie the trunk loosely; remove stake and tie after 2–3 years.
4. Protect the young trunk from rabbits and deer, and water generously after planting.

Care

Watering

In dry spells during the first two years; in hot, dry summers later on too, as it likes a cool, moist soil.

Feeding

Not needed; a layer of leaf mould or mulch keeps the soil cool and moist.

Under the tree

Keep the ground around a young tree free of grass and weeds and cover it with mulch.

Berries

Leave them for the birds. If you want to make jelly, pick them after the first night frost or put them in the freezer overnight.

Tip: Plant your rowan where you can see it from the window: in August–September thrushes, blackbirds and starlings come to eat the berries.

Rowan: when to prune it?

Pruning months: November–March.

When: Dead, diseased and broken branches can be removed at any time of year. If pruning is needed, do it during winter dormancy (November–March).

How:

• Needs little pruning; at most, remove branches that make the crown too dense.
• Train a young tree on a single trunk, or let it grow multi-stemmed if you like the look.
• Remove shoots from the base and water shoots on the trunk.

Caution: Disinfect your secateurs when cutting out diseased branches: rowan can get fireblight.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

Take the seeds out of ripe berries, rinse them and sow them in a pot outdoors in autumn. They need the winter cold and germinate in spring, sometimes only a year later.

Rowan: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy; in the mountains it grows up to high altitudes.
• The last berries sometimes hang on into winter: food for blackbirds, thrushes and waxwings.

Diseases and pests

• Fireblight: Flowers, leaves and shoot tips suddenly wilt and turn brownish-black as if scorched; the tips curl over like a shepherd’s crook. Cut back well into healthy wood and disinfect your secateurs.
• Aphids: Curled leaves at the shoot tips in spring. Usually harmless: ladybirds and tits clear them up.
• Drought and heat: Brown leaf edges and early leaf drop in hot, dry summers. Water and mulch the soil.
• Trunk damage: The smooth bark of a young tree is easily damaged by mowers and gnawing animals. Keep a clear strip around the trunk and protect it.

Through the year

• January: Formative pruning in mild weather; plant bare-root trees.
• February: Winter pruning and planting.
• March: Last month for pruning and planting.
• May: Flowering: white heads for bees and hoverflies.
• August: The first berries turn orange-red: the thrushes arrive.
• October: Yellow to orange-red autumn colour; sow seeds from ripe berries.
• November: Planting season starts; winter pruning possible.
• December: Winter pruning; remove dead branches.

What can you use it for?

For wildlife

The berries are a feast for thrushes, starlings and blackbirds; the flowers for insects.

Food and drink

Raw berries are bitter and mildly poisonous. Cooked, ideally after a frost, they make jelly and jam.

Garden and landscape

Small tree, ideal for small gardens.

Edible and useful

Berries (August–October)

Pick the clusters when the berries are bright orange-red, from late August to October. After the first night frost, or a night in the freezer, they are less bitter. Only use them cooked: for jelly (with apple), chutney, compote or with game.

Storing

The berries can be frozen on their clusters. Jelly and chutney keep for a year in sterilised jars.

Caution: Raw rowan berries contain parasorbic acid, which can upset the stomach; cooking largely destroys it. So do not eat them raw, and sieve out the seeds. Do not confuse rowan with other red berries, such as those of yew, guelder rose, honeysuckle or holly: rowan has pinnate leaves and berries in broad, flat clusters. Pick well away from busy roads and sprayed fields, and never eat anything you have not identified with certainty.

Eating and using is at your own risk: see the terms of use.

Recipes

• Rowan jelly (Jelly · ± 4 jars of 250 ml · 1 hr 30 + overnight dripping)
• Rowan and apple chutney (Other · ± 3 jars of 250 ml · 1 hr 15)
• Rowan syrup (Syrup · ± 600 ml · 1 hr + overnight freezing)
• Rowan and apple fruit leather (Dried · ± 200 g fruit leather (1 baking tray) · 1 hr + 6–8 hrs drying)

Good for wildlife

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Hoverflies

Open flowers for hoverflies; many of their larvae eat aphids.

Did you know?

• The scientific name aucuparia (‘bird-catching’) recalls that the berries were once used as bait to trap thrushes.
• Sorbic acid, a well-known preservative (E200), was first extracted from rowan berries and is named after Sorbus.
• In winters when they arrive in large numbers from the north, flocks of waxwings strip the rowans in gardens and streets.
• Sorbic acid, the preservative E200, was first isolated from rowan berries in 1859 and is named after the rowan (Sorbus).
• In Scotland and Scandinavia the rowan was for centuries believed to protect against witchcraft, so it was often planted near the house.