American Ash Tree Seeds | White Ash | (Fraxinus americana)

The backbone of the eastern forest. Fighting to survive. Worth every effort to grow.

Fraxinus americana, the American Ash or White Ash, is one of the most important hardwood trees in eastern North America, producing the most valuable bat wood in professional baseball, the finest sporting goods timber available, and an annual supply of seeds that feeds millions of birds and small mammals across the continent. It is also one of the most threatened trees in America, its populations being decimated by the Emerald Ash Borer across its entire native range in a wave of destruction that has already killed hundreds of millions of trees and is not finished. Growing American Ash from seed is an act of conservation as much as horticulture. If you are looking to buy American Ash seeds or grow white ash from seed, every tree matters right now in a way that it never had to before.

• One of the most important native hardwood trees in eastern North America for timber, wildlife, and ecology
• Produces the finest baseball bat and tool handle wood available from any North American species
• Golden-yellow to burgundy-purple fall color, among the most reliable fall displays of any native ash
• Fast-growing and adaptable to wet and dry soils across a wide range of site conditions
• Currently under severe threat from Emerald Ash Borer, making cultivation critically important

Things you probably did not know about the American Ash

Every Major League baseball bat made from ash is made from American Ash. The white ash has been the primary wood for professional baseball bats since the sport was invented. The combination of strength, flex, and density is perfectly matched to the forces involved in hitting a baseball at professional speeds. The shift toward maple bats in recent decades reduced but did not eliminate the dominance of ash in professional baseball.

The Emerald Ash Borer has killed over 100 million trees since 2002. Agrilus planipennis, an invasive beetle from East Asia, was accidentally introduced in Michigan in the early 1990s and discovered in 2002. Since then it has spread to virtually every state and Canadian province within the ash's range. Some forest ecologists estimate that the loss of ash will reshape eastern forest structure as dramatically as the loss of American Chestnut did in the early 20th century.

The seeds are produced in astronomical quantities and feed millions of birds. American Ash produces extraordinary quantities of winged seeds called samaras in abundant years. Purple finches, pine grosbeaks, evening grosbeaks, and numerous other seed-eating birds depend heavily on ash seeds through fall and winter. In years of high seed production a single large ash tree can produce enough seeds to feed large flocks for weeks.

The fall color varies dramatically between individuals. American Ash fall color ranges from bright yellow through orange to deep burgundy-purple depending on the individual tree, its growing conditions, and the specific genetics of that specimen. No two ash trees color identically in fall, which means growing multiple trees from seed creates a fall display with natural variation that no planted cultivar selection can replicate.

Growing Details

• Botanical Name: Fraxinus americana
• Stratification: Required, 60 to 90 days cold stratification
• USDA Zones: 3 to 9
• Soil: Adaptable, prefers moist, rich, well-drained soil but tolerates a range of conditions
• Light: Full sun
• Height: 50 to 80 feet
• Spread: 40 to 50 feet
• Growth Rate: Fast, 2 to 4 feet per year

Plant it knowing what it is up against and knowing that every tree grown in cultivation is part of the reservoir the species will need to recover from what is happening to it right now.