Greene Mountain Ash

Greene mountain ash is a deciduous shrub or small tree (rarely 15 feet) forming dense thickets, native from southern Alaska south through the Pacific Northwest to northern California, east to the Dakotas, and south to Utah and New Mexico. You will recognize it by its opposite, pinnately compound leaves (10-23 cm long) with 9-15 narrow leaflets that are sharply toothed and dark shiny green.

Greene mountain ash adapts to full sun through light shade on moist to moderately dry, well-drained soil. Once established, it is drought tolerant. The orange-red berries (8 mm) that mature in fall are extremely valuable food for songbirds and cedar waxwings, which consume them avidly. The shrub is relatively pest-free and requires minimal maintenance.